Pakistan required a win to conquer yet another test series, while New Zealand were desperate to win this one to stay in the series, but a drawn match did not bother the two of them either. The second test of this three match test series between Pakistan and New Zealand was played at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, UAE. The five-day match of classic cricket started on 17th November. There were changes in the Pakistani side after Ahmed Shehzad and Mohammad Hafeez were struck by injuries, while Imran Khan was rested by the captain. New Zealand’s playing eleven was same as that in the first test.
Pakistan vs New Zealand Teams
Pakistan (Playing XI): Taufeeq Umar, Shan Masood, Azhar Ali, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq(c), Asad Shafiq, Sarfraz Ahmed(w), Yasir Shah, Zulfiqar Babar, Rahat Ali, Ehsan Adil
New Zealand (Playing XI): Brendon McCullum(c), Tom Latham, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Corey Anderson, James Neesham, BJ Watling(w), Mark Craig, Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Ish Sodhi
The toss was won by the Blackcaps captain, Brendon McCullum, who decided to bat first. The conditions in Dubai have always been batsmen-friendly. The pitch is flat with a bit of turn for the spinners in the later days but overall, it is a heaven for batsmen. Tom Latham and Brendon McCullum opened the batting for Kiwis and gave them a very stable and strong start. Latham scored a century in the first innings and was caught by Sarfaraz behind the wickets at Rahat Ali’s ball when he was on 137, while Brendon was caught off Ehsaan Adil’s bowling on 43. No other batsmen could score more than 45 runs for New Zealand later and the whole team got bowled out at 403 runs. The highest wicket-taker for Pakistan was Zulfiqar Babar, who took four wickets, Ehsan Adil and Yasir Shah took two wickets each while Rahat Ali and Azhar Ali took one wicket each.
In response to a big total of 403, Pakistan got off to a shaky start when both the openers, Shan Masood and Taufeeq Umar, got out early and the team was two wickets down for 32 runs. Azhar Ali and Younis Khan came to bat after them and they stabilized the batting. They scored 75 and 72 runs respectively. Later, Sarfaraz Ahmed got a fabulous century, scoring 112 runs before Pakistan got all out at 393 runs, still trailing by ten runs to New Zealand. Wicket-takers for New Zealand included Tim Southee who took three wickets, Trent Boult and Ish Sodhi took two wickets, while Mark Craig, James Neesham and McCullum took one wicket each.
While having a lead of just ten runs, the New Zealand players tried their best to win this match. They came out to bat in the second innings on the fourth day of the match. They had to set a target large enough that the Pakistanis do not reach it and their bowlers can defend it too. In about three sessions of batting Ross Taylor scored 104 runs and was caught by Sarfaraz Ahmed at Yasir Shah’s ball while Brendon Macullum scored 42. On the other side, Yasir Shah completed a five-wicket-haul and Zulfiqar Babar took four wickets. New Zealand declared their innings on 250 and set Pakistan 260 to win in the last two sessions of the last day of the second test match.
It was the last day of the game with two sessions and 260 runs to get. The Pakistani batsmen came to bat with the very inexperienced opening pair. Taufeeq Umar got out after scoring just four runs when New Zealand started to put all efforts to get as many wickets as possible, but Azhar Ali and Shan Masood stood firm at the crease. Shan scored 40 runs and was given lbw on Trent Boult’s ball. Azhar Ali scored 24, Younis Khan 44 and Asad Shafiq 41 when the Pakistan’s total was 196-5. The match was announced a ‘draw’ just three minutes before the official closing time, by the captains of the two teams.
Ross Taylor was declared ‘Man Of The Match’ , in the post-match award ceremony, for his wonderful innings which saved the Black Caps from losing another test to an in-form Pakistani side. Other awards that were given include ‘Master Blaster’ to Younis Khan, ‘Best Batsman’ to Tom Latham, ‘Colourful Innings’ to Sarfraz Ahmed, ‘Fastest Bowler’ was Trent Boult and ‘Outstanding Player’ was Yasir Shah.
This match was a perfect display of how interesting the game of cricket is, even in its original form. This drawn test now takes the decision of the series to the last match, the third Test, that will be played at Sharjah. The pitch there is also very batsmen friendly, but the result of the match depends on the performance of players and strategy of the captains.
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