New Zealand 266 for 8 (Watling 45*, Henry 15*, Sohail 4-99) v Pakistan
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Sohail Khan had figures of 4 for 99 at tea © Getty Images
A four-wicket haul from Sohail Khan led an improved day-two display from Pakistan’s seamers, leaving New Zealand eight down at tea even as their lower order, orbiting around an unbeaten 45 from BJ Watling, dragged their score past 250. When Imran Khan had the aggressive Colin de Grandhomme caught behind first ball after lunch, New Zealand were 170 for 6, but handy contributions from Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee and Matt Henry helped them add 96 for the loss of a further two wickets.
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. This was particularly evident in the pace at which Southee and Henry scored their runs. 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 ten balls, added an unbroken 27 with Watling for the ninth wicket as New Zealand went to tea 266 for 8.
It was only a continuation of the counterattack de Grandhomme had begun before tea, in a 51-run sixth-wicket stand 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.
The partnership drew New Zealand back on level terms on a still helpful pitch, helping them recover from a distinctly wobbly 119 for 5.
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