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Pakistan vs New Zealand 2014, 3rd Test at Sharjah Day 2: New Zealand finish on 249/1 at stumps

McCullum scored a quickfire 153 off 145 balls to guide NZ to a commanding position.

Brendon McCullum and Kane Williamson added 198 runs for the second wicket, the highest stand for any wicket for New Zealand against Pakistan in Tests © AFP
Brendon McCullum and Kane Williamson added 198 runs for the second wicket, the highest stand for any wicket for New Zealand against Pakistan in Tests © AFP

Nov 28, 2014

New Zealand reached a score of 249 for one at stumps on Day Two during the third and final Test against Pakistan at Sharjah on Friday. The visitors were trailing Pakistan’s score of 351 by 102 runs, with Brendon McCullum and Kane Williamson batting at scores of 153 and 76 respectively. Rahat Ali was the only bright spot among the Pakistan bowlers, taking the lone wicket of the New Zealand innings by removing Tom Latham during the second session of the day.

The second day clearly belonged to the Kiwis, producing a dominant performance in each session of the day, taking seven wickets for 70 runs in the first session, before scoring 164 and 85 runs in the next two sessions respectively. The stars of the day were Mark Craig, who played the core role in the Pakistani batting implosion and finished on a tally of seven wickets for 94 runs, as well as McCullum for his blistering century.

The day began on a sombre note, with the players from both sides observing a minute’s silence for the late cricketer Phillip Hughes, who died on Thursday morning at St. Vincent’s hospital at Sydney, losing the battle for his life after getting struck by a bouncer behind his ear during a Sheffield Shield game between South Australia and New South Wales on November 25. The players also wore black armbands in his memory, and the New Zealand players bore the initials ‘P.H.’ under the fern logo on their jerserys. The players from both teams also placed their bats on the boundary with cap on each on them.

Pakistan resumed from their overnight score of 281 for three, with Mohammad Hafeez and skipper Misbah-ul-Haq batting on 178 and 38 respectively. It wasn’t long before New Zealand got the first breakthrough of the day, with Tim Southee removing the Pakistan captain. Mohammad Hafeez continued attacking the Kiwi bowlers, surpassing his previous highest Test score of 196. He fell three runs short of a well-deserved maiden Test double-ton however, when he was caught at the deep square leg boundary by Trent Boult while trying to smash Ish Sodhi for a six.

Hafeez’s dismissisal was the beginning of a Pakistani downslide, losing their next six wickets for 40 runs, with Mark Craig claiming all the scalps. Asad Shafiq and Sarfraz Ahmed, who enjoyed a good run with the bat in recent times, failed to make much of an impact. Yasir Shah managed to hit four boundaries during his cameo innings of 25 from 65 balls, being the last batsman to be dismissed for Pakistan.

The New Zealand batsmen began the offensive on the Pakistan bowlers from the word ‘go’, with McCullum going for the big hits from the early stages of the Kiwi reply, taking his side to a 50-run opening stand in no time at all. It was right after the partnership milestone was achieved when Pakistan managed to get the breakthrough, with Tom Latham getting a top-edge off the bowling of Rahat Ali and Sarfraz Ahmed taking a running catch over at the square-leg area.

That was the only time the Pakistanis would be celebrating for the rest of the session, as Brendon McCullum seemed to get more vicious with each passing delivery. McCullum took a particular liking for Zulfiqar Babar and Mohammad Talha, scoring 16 and 18 runs off one of their overs respectively. Kane Williamson silently supported his partner from the other end, occasionally sending the ball towards the boundary.

The biggest moment came at the end of the second session, when Brendon McCullum patted a Zulfiqar Babar delivery for a single to bring up his century off just 78 deliveries, the fastest by  a New Zealand batsman in Tests. Williamson played the silent partner for most part of the stand, eventually scoring 76 runs off 96 balls. The partnership was worth 198 runs off 218 balls at the end of the 45th over, before the umpires decided to stopplay due to bad light. New Zealand a mere 103 runs to take a lead, with nine wickets in hand.

Brief scores:

Pakistan 351 (Mohammad Hafeez 197, Azhar Ali 39, Misbah-ul-Haq 38; Mark Craig 7 for 94) lead New Zealand 249 for 1 (Brendon McCullum 153*, Kane Williamson 76*; Rahat Ali 1 for 24) by 102 runs.

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