New Zealand defeated hosts England by 8 wickets in the second Test match on Sunday. With this victory, New Zealand took a 1-0 lead in the two-match Test series. Following that, former England captain Kevin Pietersen explained why they lost. He blamed the participation of players in the T20 league for the humiliating defeat.
In four days, the second test match concluded. In the first innings, England scored 303 runs and only 122 runs in the second innings. In the first innings, New Zealand scored 388 runs and got the target of only 38 runs to chase. New Zealand reached the target in 10.5 overs losing only two wickets.
‘Since the beginning of the franchise T20 league, rarely any great cricketer has played a full season of county cricket,’ Pietersen wrote on Twitter. There’s a big difference between county and international cricket, which is why Test match batting is in such a mess! In the tweet itself, he termed the T20 league a money league and drew a dollar symbol in the bracket.
The England team’s second innings were reduced to just 122 runs. Only Captain Joe Root, Ollie Pope, Ollie Stone, and Mark Wood reached double figures. Matt Henry was named the player of the match after collecting three wickets in the first innings and three more in the second.
Get all the IPL news and Cricket Score here