More pain and struggle was in store for Pakistan on day 2 of the first Test at Mount Maunganui as the ever-efficient BJ Watling led his team past the score of 400 in their first innings. The Kiwis ended up with a score of 431. Pakistan, in reply, were 30/1 when the day's play ended.
In the first session, the spotlight was on Kane Williamson who was batting on 94 overnight. His masterful display of discipline and determination was chiefly responsible for getting his team in a good position. He duly brought up his hundred with a silky smooth off drive - his 23rd century in Tests, just three less than Steve Smith and four less than Virat Kohli.
The other overnight batsman Henry Nicholls had also reached a milestone, of his fifty earlier. The two batsman were now looking very comfortable on a pitch that seemed to have lost most of its venom.
A sharp rising delivery from Naseem Shah ended Nicholls' vigil as the ball took the edge, to be taken behind the stumps. But Williamson looked at his elegant best, reeling off those gracious drives through the off side that distinguish his batting.
It took a brilliant delivery from Yasir Shah to end Williamson's knock at his personal score of 129. A delivery on a good length pitched and turned to take the edge of the New Zealand captain's bat, which was taken very low at first slip.
At 281/5, Pakistan would have fancied their chances of restricting the home side to a manageable total. Unfortunately for them, BJ Watling, the defiant, nuggety wicketkeeper-batsman again stood like a fort and didn't let the visitors get any more breakthroughs.
He showed the solid technique and determination that his captain possesses to carve useful partnerships with Mitchell Santner first and Kyle Jamieson later. In this period, Pakistan surprisingly didn't use their most reliable bowler Mohamamd Abbas. Yasir was used and bowled well, but on a pitch that didn't give much help.
Eventually, Faheem removed Santner with a wide delivery that the all-rounder tried to play, to be caught by the wicketkeeper. Jamieson, who was playing a highly irritating innings for Pakistan was dismissed by a good delivery by Abbas that bounced just a bit extra on a very tight off-stump line. His 32 though, formed part of an invaluable 66-run stand for the seventh wicket.
After the tea break, Yasir ended the innings of Tim Southee. The pacer looked on edge against Yasir throughout his innings and was bowled by the leggie for a duck. Watling's innings ended at the score of 73 when he tried to guide a short ball from Shaheen Afridi over the slip cordon but was caught superbly by a diving Yasir at gully.
Shaheen now wanted his fifth but Neil Wagner and Trent Boult kept surviving his deliveries in the most ungainly manner. Eventually, it was Yasir who got the final wicket when an attempted slog sweep by him got the top edge that was taken by the midwicket fielder.
Shaheen's 4/109 were the best figures of the innings while Yasir's 3/113 were the second best. Faheem, Naseem, and Abbas got one each.
When Pakistan started their innings, the focus was on Tim Southee as he is just four wickets short of becoming only the third New Zealander to get 300 Test wickets. However, openers Shan Masood and Abid Ali looked more than capable of taking on the famed new-ball duo of Southee and Boult.
Abid, especially, played some brilliant shots. Masood though, was very unlucky to be dismissed when a delivery down the leg side was nicked by him to the wicketkeeper. Pakistan ended the day on 30/1 with Abid on 19 and night-watchman Abbas not having opened his account.
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