No longer burdened by captaincy, Joe Root on Sunday led England to a five-wicket win over New Zealand in the first Test of the three-match series at the Lord’s Stadium, London. 

Root played an unbeaten 115-run knock off 170 balls in the second innings as the hosts chased down New Zealand’s 277-run target in 78.5 overs. The 31-year-old pulled pacer Tim Southee to a pull at the mid-wicket to bring up the win. The former English skipper jumped, pumped his fists and roared. The crowd went ‘Rooot’ as Ben Stokes got his first win as skipper. 

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England started Day 4 at 216/5. Root was batting at 77. He, who has been the team’s highest run-getter this year, went on to frustrate the Kiwi bowlers. The hosts now lead the series 1-0. 

Going to his 26th century in the format, Root also became the 14th batsman and only second from England to reach the landmark total of 10,000 career Test runs. He is the youngest player to achieve the feat, equalling retired England captain Alastair Cook’s record of 31 years 157 days.

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Along with the former skipper, wicke-keeper Ben Foakes remained unbeaten at 32. The two stitched a 120-run stand and denied kane Williamson’s men a wicket on Day 4. 

England had won only one out of the 17 Tests before this game. They were coming off a 4-0 Ashes loss and 1-0 in the West Indies. The coach was replaced, Brendon McCullum taking the lead, and there was a new captain in Ben Stokes. 

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“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). 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,” Root, the player of the match, said.