Dismal batting performance from the tourists saw them collapse down to 7-105 at the end of the day's play.

By Abdullah Ansari (18th 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.

The day began well for Pakistan as Sohail started strongly in the morning session, getting Nicholls LBW in just his 2nd over with a good delivery that straightened a tad. Amir had Raval caught in the slips with an good delivery in the next over as Pakistan quickly dismissed the overnight batsmen. Watling and de Grandhomme got New Zealand into the lead with the latter playing a few shots until he went for one too many, hooking Sohail straight to Rahat at long leg. A good delivery by Rahat had Astle edging to slip in the next over. Southee hit a few boundaries to hurt Pakistan but Rahat struck to dismiss Watling with a good length delivery that the wicket keeper edged to slip. Southee was caught behind off behind Amir while Rahat finished off the innings as Wagner hooked one to the man in the deep as New Zealand ended on 200 all out, a lead of 67. Pakistan played out six overs before Lunch safely.

The Pakistan batsmen were circumspect after the break with the ball still moving around quite a bit. Just when it seemed that the openers had weathered the storm, Sami was dismissed as he poked at a delivery from de Grandhomme and was caught behind. Babar Azam came in with positive intent, looking to make up for the slow scoring rate as he played a few shots but Azhar struggled to score at the other end, going through long periods without runs. The batsmen slowly but surely got closer towards the deficit of 67 though only 44 runs were scored in the 2nd session, Pakistan going to Tea at 50/1.

Wagner came on to bowl his usual short pitched deliveries as Pakistan continued to score slowly. His approach eventually paid off as Babar gloved a short ball down the leg-side after making 29. A couple of overs later, he had Younis as well with an excellent bouncer which the veteran failed to handle, getting caught behind. Misbah and Azhar settled down though runs were hard to come by. With the partnership slowly building, Misbah gave it away as he went for a hook against Southee after leaving alone a number of short deliveries - top edging straight to Boult at long leg. A few balls later, Boult ended Azhar's vigil too. The batsmen, stuck in a blocking mode when for a drive without conviction, ending up edging it on to his stumps after a hard fought 173 balls for just 31 runs. Pakistan faded late in the day as a brilliant delivery by Boult had Sarfraz bowled before Amir also perished, caught at gully. Sohail struck a few late blows as Pakistan finished at 129/7, a lead of just 62 runs.

Summary: A familiar story for Pakistan. The bowlers were excellent in the morning session, bringing the tourists back into the game with New Zealand limited to a 67-run lead. At Tea, Pakistan looked to be decently placed, just 17 behind with only a wicket down but all the good work was undone in the last session. With the sun out and swing seemingly gone, it looked like the ideal time for Pakistan to come back into the match - but it was not to be. Wagner bowled an excellent spell as he usually has been doing lately, with Pakistan struggling against the bouncers. Azhar failed to get out of his earlier state of mind, going on to block almost everything and going nowhere while Misbah, not for the first time in recent times, threw it away. It was a procession after that as the New Zealand bowlers took advantage of Pakistan's mindset as the batsmen collapsed. The match is almost gone now - it will take Pakistan a miracle to win this from here.

Fall of wickets:

4-105 (Nicholls, 38.2 ov)
5-109 (Raval, 39.3 ov)
6-146 (de Grandhomme, 48.6 ov)
7-146 (Astle, 49.5 ov)
8-171 (Watling, 53.6 ov)
9-177 (Southee, 56.5 ov)
10-200 (Wagner, 59.5 ov)

1-21 (Sami Aslam, 17.6 ov)
2-58 (Babar Azam, 40.5 ov)
3-64 (Younis Khan, 44.3 ov)
4-93 (Misbah-ul-Haq, 57.6 ov)
5-93 (Azhar Ali, 58.3 ov)
6-95 (Sarfraz Ahmed, 60.2 ov)
7-105 (Mohammad Amir, 62.2 ov)

Discuss!