Saud Shakeel’s first test tone and a 150 partnership with the spirited Sarfaraz Ahmed allowed Pakistan to respond strongly to New Zealand’s 449. However, the visitors recovered with a second-half strike as Pakistan lost four wickets for 12 runs despite Shakeel going unbeaten for 124.
The final session ended in contrast to the rest of the time when Pakistan’s racquets showed a lot of resilience. Backed by a partnership between the Surfers and Shakir, Pakistan’s run-flowing mid-session was marked by a transplant period in which they made steady progress without moving into a dominant position. In the final session, Shakeel returned to defensive mode, scoring a 53-run, 150-ball winning streak against Aga Salman, slowing entry in the lower tiers. It also allowed Pakistan to cut its deficit and get closer and closer to New Zealand’s total.
It wasn’t until Salman, who skillfully got caught in Ajaz’s Patel slip, was sent off that Shaquille started to pick up the pace again. However, overall he added only 23 runs in one session after being dropped for 102 by Tom Latham on a cover point in front of Tim Southey. Salman’s dismissal also saw Pakistani submissions as Hassan Ali holed deep mid-wicket and Ish Sodi hit the ball back to back to bowl Naseem Shah and Mir Hamza. rice field.
Shakeel eventually helped Pakistan surpass his 400-run mark. When Shakeel partnered with Sarfaraz, the duo perfected the partnership, preferring to stabilize their innings in the first session and target run rate in the second. It was a trick that worked almost perfectly. But just as they threatened to close the door on New Zealand, the visitors found a way to buck the tide of play.
Minutes before the tea break, Darryl Mitchell found a golden touch on the ball and made it into shape, he confirmed his LBW his call against Sarfaraz on the field but the DRS saw the batter go inside him. I just made sure that I have an edge of . But shortly after, Mitchell got his man despite an unforced error. Sarfaraz averted his eyes and knocked him off balance, but Blundell tackled the stump and pulled out his stirrup as his leg lifted. Sarfaraz fell on his 78 and scored his 50 in his third on the comeback trot and took over the fulcrum role from Imam ul Haq In good spirits he, along with Shakeel, revive Pakistan’s innings played an important role on
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 Shakeel, picked up where he left off.
Showing tremendous perseverance, Shakeel strived for an unbeaten 101 punctuated by sweeps of all kinds, from rounds to slogs, pushing the limits with his otherwise tenacious shots, totaling 242 balls. swallowed. After starting mostly defensively, Shakeel started in his second session and he hit ten bounds as Pakistan gained the upper hand.
Sarfaraz Ahmed complemented the stoic Shakeel with aggressive innings. The pacer was the wrong length, and some restrictions allowed him to increase his batting average, apart from keeping himself busy with individuals. He followed the quick start by attacking the spinner head-on and shifting gears.
New Zealand struggled in the second half of the session, missing a provided backswing when the ball had to be replaced due to a torn seam. The second new ball helped Pakistan run fast. But just as they were about to go on the offensive, New Zealand managed to pull things back.