Daryl Mitchell smashes third consecutive century; joins Rahul Dravid, and Steve Smith in the elite list

Daryl Mitchell continued his sensational run of form in the ongoing England-New Zealand Test series at the Headingly Cricket Ground in Leeds. Mitchell scored his third century of the series in as many games with a fine knock in the third Test match of the series.

Also Read:Sarfaraz Khan is only second to Bradman; Checkout his record in first-class cricket

After Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson won the toss and chose to bat first, Mitchell once again helped New Zealand shrug off the loss of early wickets and get a reasonable score on the board. Alongside Mitchell, wicket-keeper Tom Blundell once again put up a huge partnership to stabilize the visitor's innings while scoring a half-century.

By virtue of his knock, Mitchell has become the first-ever New Zealand batter to score three hundred in three consecutive Test matches against England. However, this is Mitchell's fourth Test century of his career out of which three have come in the ongoing series. The right-handed batter scored a ton in the second innings of the series opener at Lord's and followed it up with centuries in the first innings of both the Trent Bridge and Headingly Test matches.

Mitchell has also become the first New Zealand player in 73 years to score more than 400 runs in a Test series against England. In his knock in the third Test match, Mitchell upstaged Bert Sutcliffe's tally in the Black Cap's tour of England in 1949. Sutcliff had scored 451 runs in that series.

The 31-year-old is only the fourth player in the 21st century to score three Test centuries as an overseas player on a tour to England. He has joined Rahul Dravid (2002, 2011), Mohammad Yusuf (2006), and Steve Smith (2019) in the elite list of batters.

Daryl Mitchell is the seventh player to score a century in all three Test matches of a three-match series

Read Also: ENG vs IND Test: Top 5 Active Indian Batters With Most Test Runs Against England

Mitchell is the seventh player to score a century in all three Test matches of a three-match series in history. He has joined Virat Kohli (SL, 2017), Ross Taylor (WI, 2013), Mohammad Yusuf (WI, 2006), Matthew Hayden (SA, 2002), Shoaib Mohammad (Aus, 1990), and Barrington (Pak, 1967) to achieve the unique feat. Meanwhile, he is also the first player from New Zealand and the first player to do the same in the away series.

Mitchell was ultimately dismissed for a knock of 109 and has scored 482 runs in three matches at an average of 120.60.