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Records flattened one after another after New Zealand gave a perfect send-off to its stalwart Tim Southee in the third Test against England on Tuesday.
New Zealand entered Seddon Park knowing the series was out of their grasp as England possessed an unassailable 2-0 lead. With the series win out of question, it all came down to giving a memorable send-off to Southee, who was playing his final Test for the Kiwis. New Zealand achieved it in style with a thumping 423-run victory over the European counterparts on Day 4 of the Test. This is the joint-highest triumph by runs in Test cricket. In 2018, against Sri Lanka, New Zealand won the Test with the same margin. The Kiwis became the first team to win a Test match by a margin of over 300 runs after losing the previous Test in the series by over 300 runs. In the second Test against England, New Zealand fell to a defeat by 323 runs in Wellington. Since their last defeat against South Africa in 2012 at Seddon Park, New Zealand have played 10 Tests at the venue, won eight and two ended in a draw. After falling on the wrong side of the result, England became the first team to concede two 400-plus runs defeats in a calendar year. In February, the Three Lions suffered a 434-run defeat against India. England's ever-reliable Joe Root eclipsed Pakistan great Javed Miandad to become the leading run-scorer in Test cricket against New Zealand. Root bettered Miandad's tally of 1919 with his 1925 runs. Notably, Root is also the leading run-getter in Test format against India, with 2846 runs to his name. Root is just the second player to be a leading run-scorer against two nations after Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara. The former wicketkeeper batter is the leading run-scorer in Test format against Pakistan (2911) and Bangladesh (1816). Root has amassed 1006 runs in the red-ball format in New Zealand, making him the first touring player to achieve the feat. With eight fifty-plus scores, Root holds the most number of half-centuries by a visiting player in New Zealand. (ANI)
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