New Zealand Opening Batsmen Break Test Milestones Versus West Indies

Cricket action
Tom Latham and Devon Conway have put New Zealand in a commanding position.

Third Test, Mount Maunganui (day four of five)

  • New Zealand 575-8 dec: Conway 227, Latham 137 and 306-2 dec: Latham 101, Conway 100
  • West Indies 420: Hodge 123 and 43-0

New Zealand's Tom Latham and Devon Conway etched their names in the record books by becoming the initial opening pair in Test match history to score centuries in both innings of a match, leaving the West Indies a daunting 462-run target for victory.

Latham notched up 137 and 101 in this third and final Test, while Conway built upon his mammoth 227 in the first innings with a precise 100 in the second.

The partnership had put on a massive 323-run stand in the first innings, amassing 515 runs overall—a new record for the highest aggregate an opening pair in a Test.

Furthermore, Conway became just the 10th batter in Test history to score a double century and a hundred in the identical game.

He emulated legends like Greg Chappell, Sunil Gavaskar, Graham Gooch, Brian Lara, and Kumar Sangakkara in achieving this notable feat.

Game Situation

Earlier on day four, the Windies were dismissed for 420, trailing by 155 runs, before Latham and Conway returned to bat.

Along with knocks from Kane Williamson (40) and Rachin Ravindra (46), the New Zealand openers propelled their side to 306-2 before a declaration, setting the visitors a formidable target of 462 to win and level the series.

At the stumps, West Indies openers had navigated to 43-0, with John Campbell digging in to score two runs from 50 balls, while Brandon King made 37.

Christopher Chen
Christopher Chen

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