Pakistan won the toss and elected to bowl first in Hamilton but Misbah-ul-Haq’s decision wasn’t justified.
After the early loss of Tim McIntosh, Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill batted well to take New Zealand to a respectable total of 78-1 at lunch. However, it was the post lunch session where Pakistanis clawed their way back due to some good bowling and irresponsible New Zealand batting.
McCullum played some good strokes before falling to Umar Gul for 56. From there on Abdul Rehman got into the act as he bowled tightly giving little room to the New Zealand batsmen. After the promising start in the morning, the Black Caps middle order capitulated as wickets fell in a cluster. Jesse Ryder was batting well before he was run out after backing up too far at the non striker’s end.
From 92-1, New Zealand collapsed to 177-7, an addition of 85 runs and a loss of six wickets as Abdur Rehman picked up three wickets. Abdur Rehman continued to bowl appreciably well from one end and Misbah-ul-Haq rotated his seamers from the other end with Tanvir Ahmed being the best of the seamers. Soon after tea, when Pakistan had New Zealand tattering at 177-7 and were looking to wrap up the innings, Kane Williamson joined hands with Tim Southee to resurrect the hosts.
Pakistan bowlers got their foot off the paddle as Southee went for his shots while Williamson blocked the other end well.
Pakistanis couldn’t dislodge the two as the runs came at good pace with Umar Gul and Wahab Riaz going for runs at an expensive rate.
New Zealand ended the day at 260-7 with Williamson still there. Abdur Rehman was the best bowler for Pakistan with 3-51 off 30 overs. Tanvir Ahmed gave him good support with 2-54. The honours were even at the end of day one however Pakistanis will be slightly frustrated as they could have easily wrapped up the New Zealand innings for around 200. But now they are at a healthy 260-7. The pitch is expected to ease out for batting on day two and three so Pakistanis should aim and polish off the remaining Kiwi batsmen soon on day two and then bat well to take advantage on day two.
Star of the day: Abdur Rehman was Pakistan’s man on day one. On a pitch with little assistance, the southpaw spinner bowled impressively for his marathon spell of 30 overs out of which he bowled 29 unchanged. He ended the day with impressive figures of 3-51 to keep New Zealand scoring under check. He bowled quicker through the air, with a flatter trajectory. It was his line that restricted Black Cap batsmen and resulted in the wickets of Martin Guptill, Ross Taylor and Reece Young.
Moment that Mattered: At 177-7 soon after tea Pakistan team were well on their way to warp up the Kiwi innings. However, a determined unbroken partnership of 83 runs between Kane Williamson (44*) and Tim Southee (56*) ensured New Zealand didn’t lose any further wickets and went past 250. Both batsmen played resolutely as Pakistanis failed to dislodge them and Black Caps got back into the game. It’s a bit early to say but this unbroken partnership can prove to be decisive given Pakistan batting’s vulnerability.
