Innings: New Zealand 271 (Raval 55, Watling 49*, Henry 15*, Sohail 4-99, Imran 3-52) v Pakistan
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Sohail Khan finished with figures of 4 for 99 © Getty Images
A four-wicket haul from Sohail Khan led an improved day-two display from Pakistan’s seamers as they bowled New Zealand out for 271 in the third over after tea. New Zealand got that far thanks to BJ Watling’s unbeaten 49, around which the rest of the lower order counterattacked to help them recover from a precarious 119 for 5.
Colin de Grandhomme began the turnaround with a 55-ball 37 that dominated a sixth-wicket stand of 51 with Watling. Never really moving his feet too much, de Grandhomme showed a pair of quick hands to play some sensational shots, including a shovel-pull off Imran Khan and a pair of back-foot punches between mid-off and extra-cover off Mohammad Amir. He moved to 37 off 54 balls before falling to the first ball after lunch, nicking Imran Khan to the wicketkeeper.
When Sohail slanted one across Mitchell Santner to have him caught at second slip by the feline Younis Khan, New Zealand were 203 for 7, but their resistance was by no means extinguished, as the next two wickets added 67.
For perhaps the first time in the match, Pakistan seemed to miss the legspin of Yasir Shah, with their all-seam attack looking a little one-dimensional as the green Seddon Park pitch eased out under a largely cloudless sky. Southee, backing away from his stumps against Wahab Riaz’s short balls, made a mess of Azhar Ali’s field placements – which at one point included a third man so fine he could ostensibly be called a long stop – before Sohail foxed him with a back-of-the-hand slower ball that spun like a googly.
Henry, trusting his eye and flat-batting three fours in 11 balls, added 31 with Watling before spooning Amir to mid-off in the second over after tea. Imran then had Neil Wagner caught at second slip to finish with three wickets, leaving Watling stranded one short of a half-century. Compact in defence as always, Watling punished any width, whether off the front or back foot, picking up five of his six fours with either the cover-drive or the cut.
With the sky blue rather than the dark grey of day one, there was less swing available to Pakistan’s quicks on the second morning. Perhaps as a result of this, all of them sought to hit the deck harder, in an effort to maximise seam movement.
The day’s first strike came at a vital moment for Pakistan. Ross Taylor, continuing to profit from a switch to a more side-on, upright stance, was scoring at comfortably over a run a ball, and he had just stroked Amir to the cover boundary to bring up his fifty partnership with Jeet Raval. Three balls later, at the start of the fifth over of the morning, Sohail got one to nip back into him from just short of a good length and clip his inside edge through to the wicketkeeper as he looked to force the ball into the covers.
At the other end, the left-handed Raval seemed utterly sure of his off stump when the ball was angled across him, but less so against Amir’s left-arm over angle. He had survived one uncertain poke in the first over of the match, when Sami Aslam put him down at first slip off Amir. The same bowler endured the agony of a near-replay in the ninth over of the second morning, when a near-identical poke from Raval ended up with Aslam, diving to his right this time, shelling another straightforward chance at first slip. This time, Raval was batting on 40.
Replacing Sohail, Imran went for two early boundaries in his spell, Raval bringing up fifty with the first one, a drive to the left of mid-off. Then he moved around the wicket, looking to emulate Amir’s angle. It only took three balls from that side of the stumps for Imran to strike, Raval jabbing away from his body, uncharacteristically, and nicking to first slip, where Aslam had given way to the debutant Mohammad Rizwan, who pouched the chance safely by his hip.
Henry Nicholls, stuck on 8 for 18 balls, including a maiden from Imran bending the ball back into him from around the wicket and severely testing his judgment of off stump, seemed to release a bit of pressure when he pulled Wahab for four. That ball, however, would eventually play a part in his dismissal. Having pushed him back with a succession of short balls, Wahab bowled one full, outside off stump, inviting the drive, and got it to straighten off the seam to find Nicholls’ edge.
Karthik Krishnaswamy is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo