NOTTINGHAM, England — New Zealand strengthened its hold on the third and deciding test against England on Sunday by moving to 180-4 and a lead of 264 runs, with Rachin Ravindra the only batter to be dismissed in the first session of Day 4 at Trent Bridge just six runs short of his sixth century.
Resuming on 120-3, Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell dug in initially on a pitch that was giving increasingly variable bounce but stayed together until just before lunch when Ravindra (94) was trapped lbw by off-spinner Shoaib Bashir.
It ended a partnership of 129 runs for the fourth wicket after they came together with New Zealand in a tough position at 51-3.
Mitchell was 47 not out and Tom Blundell unbeaten on 0. New Zealand scored 60 runs in 25 overs in a hard-fought session.
Not since 1999 has New Zealand won a series in England of three tests or more.
The English haven’t lost a home series of three tests or more since 2012. If they do, there would be more pressure on the team’s leadership after a humiliating 4-1 Ashes series defeat and subsequent concerns about its professionalism in the wake of the dropping of Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson for the second test for a disciplinary matter.
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