Pakistan vs New Zealand, 1st Test at Abu Dhabi, Day 2: Pakistan in command as they rack up 566

By Indrajit Dutta

Nov 10, 2014

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Pakistan dominated Day Two of the first Test against New Zealand after they made 566 for the loss of three wickets. In reply, New Zealand were 15 without the loss of a wicket with skipper Brendon McCullum and Tom Latham at the crease.

The Pakistan batsmen have been in a good vein of form recently and this has continued against New Zealand as well. The top five batsmen went past half-century in  this innings. Ahmed Shehzad top-scored with 176. Misbah ul Haq and Younis Khan too made centuries.  They have hit a purple patch. Misbah recently equalled the record for the fastest century in Tests against Australia when he made 101 off 57 balls.  Both Misbah and Younis were nothing short of terrific.

Younis Khan was simply phenomenal as he has been of late. He timed the ball very well from the moment he came to the crease and carried on in this vein throughout his innings. Misbah’s knock was a brilliant as well. He showed aggressive intent early on. This very nearly brought about his downfall on one occasion when he was dropped by James Neesham. Misbah, however, made the most of his success.

Shehzad looked good to add to his 176 before he was out in an unusual manner. His bat fell out of his hands as he overbalanced while facing a Corey Anderson bouncer. The Pakistan batsmen have been in a good vein form recently and this has continued against New Zealand as well.

Azhar Ali showed a lot of determination during his 87 as he negotiated both spin and pace with aplomb. His innings contained four fours. He looked set to score a hundred before leg-spinner Ish Sodhi claimed him with a ball that spun away and beat him and crashed into stumps.

Earlier, the New Zealand bowlers led by Tim Southee toiled hard but their efforts went unrewarded. Anderson was the best bowler for them with two wickets. On a pitch which has very little for the New Zealand bowlers they stuck to a good line and length but could not make the breakthroughs. At one point one saw a short cover and short mid-on. McCullum, the New Zealand skipper often in the first session employed field seen often in One-Day Internationals (ODI).

The Kiwi bowlers tried numerous things but to no avail. Trent Boult went round the wicket as he tried to swing it in and get the batsmen either bowled or leg-before.  He, however, too had no success. The off-spinner Mark Craig was brought on within the first ten overs of the day. He too had no impact. Craig too went round the wicket but could not produce the desired result. Even Tim Southee tried bowling from round the wicket for sometime but again nothing came off it.

Southee even tried to throw in a  few short deliveries but that did not work too.  The bowlers stuck to a line mostly outside the off-stump although on occasions Southee drifted down the leg-side.

Brief scores:

Pakistan 566 for 3 decl. (Ahmed Shehzad 176, Younis Khan 100*; Corey Anderson 2 for 68) lead New Zealand 15 for no loss (Brendon McCullum 9*) by 551 runs.

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(Indrajit Dutta is a reporter with CricketCountry. He is also a published poet and author. His Twitter handle is @duttaindro)