Ross Taylor
Taylor remained unbeaten on 181 (Credits: Getty)

Very few would have thought that New Zealand would walk away with a win when both of their openers – Martin Guptill and Colin Munro- were dismissed for ducks while they were chasing 336 in the must-win fourth One-Day International against England. However, Ross Taylor came up with arguably his finest ODI knock to guide New Zealand to a miraculous 5-wicket win.

The right-handed batsman played an unbeaten knock of 181 as the hosts won the game to square the five-match series 2-2.  The Black Caps were in a huge spot of bother after being reduced to 2 for 2. An 84-run stand between Kane Williamson and Taylor stopped the rot for a while. However, their chase looked derailed when their talismanic skipper was sent back by Ben Stokes for 45.

NZ vs ENG, 4th ODI: Twitter Goes Berserk As Ross Taylor's Ton Fires Kiwis To Miraculous Win
Latham and Taylor added 187 runs for the fourth wicket (Credits: Getty)

But just when it looked England would strengthen their grip on the game, Taylor and Tom Latham joined hands in the middle. The duo brought their team in the game by sharing a massive 187-run stand. The stand was broken when Tom Curran dismissed Latham for 71. But unlike Latham, Taylor remained till the end to ensure his side reach home. He was also well supported by Colin de Grandhomme who scored a quickfire 23 as New Zealand chased down the total with three balls remaining.

Earlier, centuries from Jonny Bairstow (138) and Joe Root (102) had propelled England to a massive 335 for 9 in the 50 overs. The visitors had looked well in control at 267 for in the 38th over but Ish Sodhi’ 4 for 58 quashed their hopes of scoring close to 400. England’s middle-order failed to get going which allowed New Zealand to restrict them to 335.

NZ vs ENG, 4th ODI: Twitter Goes Berserk As Ross Taylor's Ton Fires Kiwis To Miraculous Win
Bairstow scored 138 (Credits: Getty)

Here is how Twitter reacted to the game:

https://twitter.com/KarikadaiBoy/status/971227504475176960

https://twitter.com/AWBiggs/status/971260639757918208

 

An avid cricket lover, I just love this game more than anything. Writing about cricket keeps me closer to the game.