Joe Root led England to a five-wicket win against New Zealand in the first Test vs New Zealand at the Lord’s Stadium, London on Sunday. The former English skipper scored 115 runs in 170 balls in the second innings as the hosts sealed the game on Day 4. 

The win, first in the Ben Stokes-Brendon McCullum era, takes England to a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. 

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Chasing 277 runs in the second innings, England were reduced to 69/4 when Root and Ben Foakes joined hands. The two stitched a 120-run stand. While the former reached his 26th Test century, the latter was unbeaten at 32. 

En route to his ton, Joe Root became the 14th batter overall and the second from England to reach the 10000-run landmark in Tests. At 31 years and 157 days, he is the joint fastest to the feat. Retired English skipper Alastair Cook had done it at the same age in 2016. 

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Root was named the player of the match. He hailed skipper Stokes in the post-match presentation. 

“Feels fantastic, winning a Test match after a long team is a great experience. I have really enjoyed it and looking forward to the rest of the summer. I always feel that we get great support and appreciate whether home or away and it is nice to see them (crowd),” the 31-year-old said. 

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He stepped down as England’s captain ahead of the series. Brendon McCullum was named the new Test coach. 

“Ben has won many Tests for us when I was captain, it’s a great chance for me to give it back to him. so I just want to keep batting as long as I can, win as many games for my side. As long as I have got the energy and drive to do it, I will do it. I could not have wished for a better person to be leading this team (Stokes). I am gonna be backing and do everything I can to help him become successful,” Root added.