Sharma ‘leads’ India fightback against NZ

New Zealand 216-5 at stumps on day 2 of 1st Test

Peshawar Zalmi’s Darren Sammy (center), celebrates with teammates after taking the wicket of Quetta Gladiators batsman Sarfraz Ahmed during the Pakistan Super League T20 cricket match between Quetta Gladiators and

Peshawar Zalmi at National Stadium in Karachi, Pakistan on Feb 22. (AP)

Sohail Khan for two fours and a six in the second over.

Nawaz had an off day in the field when he dropped Akmal on 94 at point before the batsman completed his century off a top-edged sweep against legspinner Fawad Ahmed and ran for two.

Akmal was dismissed off the next delivery when he holed out in the deep before Liam Livingstone finished off the match with a straight six off Ahmed.

Pakistan is making former West Indies captain Darren Sammy an honorary citizen for his role in restoring international cricket to the country.

Pakistan will also give Sammy its highest civilian award – Nishane-Pakistan – the Pakistan Cricket Board tweeted Saturday.

Sammy will be honored by Pakistan President Arif Alvi in a ceremony on March 23, a national holiday known as Pakistan Day.

Sammy is seen as having played a major role as a foreign player in helping the PCB bring international cricket back to Pakistan, following an attack by gunmen on the Sri Lanka team bus in 2009.

Sammy has been leading Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League since the domestic Twenty20 tournament began in 2016.

Peshawar won the second edition of the PSL in Lahore in 2017. It was the first time that the PCB had organized a PSL game in Pakistan after the first edition and all the second edition – except the final – were played in the United Arab Emirates.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand, Feb 22, (AP): India had to put in some lengthy overtime to work their way back into the first cricket Test against New Zealand on Saturday after their paltry innings of 165 on the second day.

When stumps were finally drawn early because of bad light and after a marathon final session, New Zealand was 216-5, with an overall lead of 51. B.J. Watling was 14 not out and Colin de Grandhomme 4.

New Zealand had been in a much stronger position near the start of the session when Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor shared a 93-run partnership which steered it past India’s total with only two wickets down.

Ishant Sharma led India’s fightback as they captured the wickets of Williamson, Taylor and Henry Nicholls in the 32 overs bowled after tea to bring the match much closer to parity.

Williamson made 89 and Taylor 44 in his 100th Test but the commanding position their partnership had given New Zealand was slightly frittered away before light intervened with 11 overs still to be bowled.

Ball has mainly dominated bat from the moment New Zealand won the toss and bowled and the period in which Taylor and Williamson were together was the only time in the match when the batsmen seemed in control.

Williamson posted his 32nd half century in Tests but fell short of a century and Taylor seemed on course for his 34th half century before he also came up

New Zealand’s Ross Taylor batting against India during the first cricket Test between India and New Zealand at

the Basin Reserve in Wellington, New Zealand on Feb 22. (AP)

short of that milestone.

Sharma was largely responsible for the turnaround. He dispelled any doubts about his fitness after an ankle injury when he claimed the first three New Zealand wickets to fall; Tom Latham (11), Tom Blundell (30) and Taylor.

Taylor’s innings ended when he was surprised by a ball from Sharma that moved sharply off a length and which he fended from a glove to Cheteshwara Pujara at short leg.

The India bowlers clamped down on New Zealand’s run rate late in the day and that built pressure. Williamson had played some fine drives and cuts behind point but he began to find runs harder to come by and he fell to a soft dismissal, chipping a ball from Mohammed Shami to substitute fielder Ravindra Jadeja at cover. Nicholls battled through to 17 and then was out within two overs of stumps, caught by Virat Kohli from the bowling of Ravi Ashwin.

Earlier, Tim Southee and debutant Kyle Jamieson shared eight wickets as New Zealand bowled out India in 68 overs. India resumed at 122-5 and New Zealand needed only 13.1 overs and 50 minutes to wrap up their first innings, taking 5-43

Southee took 4-49 and Jamieson,