NZ firm despite losing wickets
hamilton — New Zealand reached 77-2 against Pakistan before rain forced day one of the second and final Test to be abandoned after just 21 overs in Hamilton on Friday.
The players took lunch 15 minutes early as the skies opened, with Jeet Raval on 35 and Ross Taylor on 29 after the early loss of Tom Latham and Kane Williamson.
Three hours later, the umpires tired of waiting for the rain to clear and scratched the final session. Play will resume half-an-hour early at 10:30 am on Saturday.
Pakistan won the toss in bowlerfriendly conditions with a green wicket and heavy cloud cover, but apart from Amir, their seamers were unable to pin New Zealand down. Ross Taylor, hit six boundaries in his unbeaten 29 off 20 deliveries.
Raval was dropped on his third delivery but otherwise looked composed
J. Raval not out T. Latham c Aslam b Amir K. Williamson c Ahmed b S Khan R. Taylor not out 1-5 (Latham), 2-39 (Williamson). Amir 6-2-15-1, Sohail Khan 7-1-351, I. Khan 7-1-19-0, Riaz 1-0-8-0.
as he continued the good form from his maiden Test last week when he compiled innings of 55 and 36 not out. —
“It was favourable conditions for the bowlers so I thought the way we played took the wind out of their sails,” said New Zealand batting coach Craig McMillan, claiming first-day honours for the home side. Following the early wickets, McMillan believed New Zealand benefited from partnering the lefthanded Raval with the right-handed Taylor.
“It was a quality first over from Mohammad Amir where he asked some serious questions of both left handers,” McMillan said.
“I think that left and right-hand combination is important. At times it can put the bowlers off. Sometimes they can be a little bit slow adjusting to the different lines.”
Apart from Amir, who had the ball swinging through the air and nipping off the deck, the Pakistan seamers were too inconsistent with line and length to make the most of the conditions.
In his opening over, Amir had Raval dropped at first slip by Sami Aslam, and removed Latham for a golden duck. The one blot on Amir’s record was a spilled caught and bowled chance before Williamson had scored. —
35 0 13 29 0