New Zealand Opening Batsmen Rewrite Test Match Milestones Against WI

Third Test, Mount Maunganui (the fourth day of five)

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

New Zealand's Tom Latham and Devon Conway achieved a historic first by becoming the initial opening pair in Test match history to score centuries in each innings of a match, setting the West Indies a massive 462-run target for victory.

Latham posted 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 constructed 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 joined an elite club in Test history to achieve a double hundred and a century in the same match.

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

Match Context

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

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

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