England has thwarted hosts New Zealand by eight wickets in the first Test of the three-match series at Hagley Oval, Christchurch, and took a 1-0 lead. Ben Stokes and his men aim to win the second Test match, slated to take place on December 6 at Basin Reserve, Wellington, to not only wrap up the series but spoil the party of Tom Latham and his men, who are in contention to find the spot in the 2025 World Test Championship Finals. On the other hand, the Kiwis, who have recently thwarted Team India by 3-0, boosted Rohit Sharma and his men's chances to place at the top spot after losing the series opener against England. 

Speaking about the series opening, it was England skipper Ben Stokes who won the toss and invited the home team to bat first. After being sent to bat first in the game, former Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson made 97 off 197 balls, while star all-rounder Glenn Phillips chipped in an unbeaten 58 off 87 balls to help the side post 348 runs in the first innings of the game. 

In reply, the visitors were magnificent with their batting performance, with Harry Brook leading the charge. The 25-year-old cricketer has notched up 171 off 195 balls, featuring 15 boundaries and three towering sixes, while wicketkeeper batter Olive Pope and captain Ben Stokes made 77 and 80 runs, respectively, to help the side post 499 runs to take a significant lead.

The New Zealand team tried hard in the second innings as Kane Williamson and Daryl Mitchell stepped up for the home team, having made 61 and 84 runs, respectively, but the rest of the batters failed and were bundled out for just 254 runs. England chased down a 104-run target with Jacob Bethell and Joe Root hammering unbeaten 50 and 23 runs to take a 1-0 lead on Day 1 of the series-opening Test match.