Pakistan bowled out for 133 after being put in to bat by New Zealand in tough batting conditions.

By Abdullah Ansari (17th November, 2016)

Toss: New Zealand won the toss, Kane Williamson chose to bowl first.

Teams

New Zealand: TWM Latham, JA Raval, KS Williamson (c), LPRL Taylor, HM Nicholls, C de Grandhomme, BJ Watling (wk), TG Southee, TD Astle, N Wagner, TA Boult.

Pakistan: Sami Aslam, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq (c), Asad Shafiq, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Mohammad Amir, Sohail Khan, Yasir Shah, Rahat Ali.

New Zealand won the toss on the 2nd morning at Christchurch after Day 1 was washed out and opted to bowl with some cloud cover on offer along with the green pitch, as they opted to go in with two debutants. Pakistan began in a circumspect manner, as expected, owing to the conditions as a decent amount of swing was on offer. The New Zealand bowlers didn't quite get their radars right as the openers left off-target deliveries well alone, negotiating the first 12 overs. However, medium pace de Grandhomme on debut had his maiden wicket as he had Azhar bowled with a good delivery that seamed in a bit. The recalled Babar Azam came in at #3 as the batsmen looked to get through the pressure - it was Southee who broke through as Sami edged a rising delivery to slip. This triggered a mini-collapse as de Grandhomme struck again to remove Babar via a loose shot, caught at slip. Younis became his third victim as he also went for an ambitious drive, getting caught in the slips. Shafiq joined Misbah at the crease, and the two batted out the rest of the overs in an extended first session in a calm manner as Pakistan looked to stage a recovery from 56/4, ending at 88/4 at lunch.

New Zealand struck a blow after lunch as de Grandhomme had Shafiq caught at slip as he poked at a good length delivery outside off. Sarfraz tried to showcase some aggression as the total went beyond 100 but succumbed to a loose shot, guiding Southee to gully. Amir hung around for a while with Misbah but runs didn't come easily. Boult returned and had Amir bowled with a good outswinger. Sohail hung around for a while as well until he became de Grandhomme's 5th wicket, a dream debut with the ball for the all-rounder. Running out of partners, Misbah went for a big shot against Boult and was caught at mid-off, having played 108 balls for his 31 runs. Rahat was the last to fall, as de Grandhomme ended with the best figures for a New Zealand bowler on debut - 6-41, as Pakistan were bowled out for 133.

Pakistan began well as the bowlers looked for early breakthroughs - Amir had one as Latham fell LBW to a straightish delivery. He reviewed thinking there was an edge but it was bat first, with the decision upheld. Sohail got the big wicket as Williamson tried to punch a rising delivery, edging to slip where Sami took a sharp catch. Rahat came on to bowl as first change and struggled with his line and length. However, he struck to remove Taylor as he gloved one down the leg-side. Nicholls joined Raval at the crease and the two looked comfortable despite a few plays and misses as the conditions eased out for batting with the sun out after the earlier cloudy conditions. Pakistan tried a variety of bowling changes as the pacers looked to extract some seam movement but the batsmen were solid with Raval showcasing good temperament as New Zealand ended the day at 104/3, 29 runs behind.

Summary: A good start to the series for New Zealand. It was the show of the debutants as first de Grandhomme picked up the best figures by a NZ bowler on debut, backed by an unbeaten fifty by the impressive Raval. Pakistan would've felt they were in the game when they had NZ 40/3 but loose bowling combined with easier conditions for batting meant that the hosts ended the day in control. Pakistan will be hopeful of getting some early breakthroughs on Day 3 and limited New Zealand to a small lead in the first innings, but if the batsmen survive initially, the hosts could very well end up running away with the game.

Fall of wickets:

1-31 (Azhar Ali, 12.3 ov)
2-53 (Sami Aslam, 17.6 ov)
3-53 (Babar Azam, 18.6 ov)
4-56 (Younis Khan, 20.6 ov)
5-88 (Asad Shafiq, 34.4 ov)
6-101 (Sarfraz Ahmed, 39.2 ov)
7-114 (Mohammad Amir, 46.1 ov)
8-129 (Sohail Khan, 53.5 ov)
9-129 (Misbah-ul-Haq, 54.5 ov)
10-133 (Rahat Ali, 55.5 ov)

1-6 (Latham, 4.3 ov)
2-15 (Williamson, 9.1 ov)
3-40 (Taylor, 16.4 ov)

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