New Zealand beat Pakistan by an innings and 176 runs in the 2nd Test match at Christchurch

Kane Williamson’s New Zealand are now the No.1 team in MRF ICC Test ranking after a 2-0 victory over Pakistan in the 2-match series that ended with hosts claiming an innings victory in the Christchurch Test.

Kyle Jamieson’s five-wicket haul in the 3rd innings and Kane Williamson’s double hundred in the 2nd innings helped New Zealand beat Pakistan by an innings and 176 runs on Day 4 of the 2nd Test. New Zealand have, for the first time in Test history, claimed the top spot in ICC Test rankings. The hosts have now gone 17 Test matches, since 2017, without losing one at home.

Jamieson bagged 5/69 and 6/48 to complete his 10 wicket haul in the match and his 6-for also helped New Zealand bundle up Pakistan for 186 in their 2nd innings after the tourists struggled and fell vastly short of the lead of 362 runs that the hosts had taken after their gigantic score of 659/6(d) in the 1st innings.

With this win over Pakistan, Kane Williamson’s team could find themselves in one of the two berths at the inaugural World



Test Championship final, at Lord's, in June. Williamson scored his 4th double hundred, 238, in Tests on Tuesday after reaching his 24th Test hundred on Monday.

"Even though the result on paper was very much in our favour, we know that when you are playing quality opposition, it's the small margins," Williamson, who was adjudged player of the series for his daddy hundreds, said after the victory.

"We won those small margins and had a bit of luck go our way as well."

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s stand-in captain Mohammad Rizwan expressed his disappointment after the innings defeat in the 2nd Test that invited a lot of criticism from former players Shoaib Akhtar and Aaqib Javed. Rizwan led the side in absence of the injured Babar Azam.

"I'm very disappointed that I didn't get a result for Pakistan as they put their faith in me. We tried our very best but we didn't do very well. As the captain, as a player, I take responsibility,” Rizwan said.