Nottingham, June 27: Rachin Ravindra produced a composed unbeaten half-century as New Zealand regained control of the third and deciding Test against England, ending Day 3 at Trent Bridge on 120/3 in their second innings with an overall lead of 204 runs.
After taking an 84-run first-innings lead, the visitors recovered from an early wobble through an unbroken 69-run stand between Ravindra (60 not out) and Daryl Mitchell (26 not out), leaving the match finely poised heading into the fourth day.
England began the day strongly at 223/2 but suffered a dramatic collapse, losing their remaining eight wickets for just 131 runs to be bowled out for 354.Overnight batters Jacob Bethell (74) and Joe Root (21) were both dismissed without adding to their overnight scores, while Harry Brook’s brisk 58 provided the only significant resistance.
Nathan Smith starred with the ball for New Zealand, claiming 4/91, while concussion substitute Zakary Foulkes impressed with 3/35.England’s pace attack responded well in New Zealand’s second innings. Jofra Archer struck twice in the opening overs, trapping Tom Latham lbw for 4 before removing Devon Conway for 5. Gus Atkinson then dismissed Henry Nicholls for 16 to reduce the visitors to 51/3.However, Ravindra steadied the innings with a fluent knock, countering the uneven bounce and challenging conditions with eight boundaries. (AP)
