Pakistan made steady progress in the second morning in response to New Zealand’s 449. Despite losing his Huk to a well-positioned Imamul at 83, Pakistan was able to add his 70 runs during the session.
Imam added just 9 to his overnight total before suffering a bottom edge trying to slice Tim Southee. New Zealand were able to end their winning streak with 83 runs with the help of DRS. But this staunch imam’s partner, Saud Shakir, picked up where he left off. Showing tremendous perseverance, Shakeel reached an undefeated 43 punctuated by sweeps of all kinds, from rounds to slogs.
Complementing the stoic Shakeel was Sarfaraz Ahmed, with whom he remained a driving force on an unbeaten 42-run streak. Due to the wrong pacer length, some restrictions allowed him to improve his batting average, aside from keeping him busy in singles games.
Losing the backswing provided when they had to change the ball due to a torn seam, New Zealand struggled late in the session, desperately losing a check to Shaq when Pakistan went from behind.
Brief Scores: New Zealand 449 (Devon Conway 122, Tom Latham 71, Matt Henry 68*, Tom Blundell 51; Abrar Ahmed 4-149) lead Pakistan 224/4 (Imam ul Haq 83, Saud Shakeel 43*) by 225 runs