NZ v PAK, 2nd Test Day 3 Review: Rain once again halts New Zealand crusade

Tim Southee picked an impressive six-wicket haul as New Zealand secured a 55-run lead in the second Test match at Hamilton. What is even more impressive is the simple fact that the Pakistani resistance was there for all to see. In spite of having played just the handful of Test matches, Babar Azam impressed with some tremendous batting along with Sarfraz Ahmed and Sohail Khan who once again showcased some decent batting to help the Pakistanis to within 100 runs of the New Zealand lead.

The day began with Pakistan on the brink at 76/5 with Babar Azam and Sarfraz Ahmed making attempts to dig the Pakistanis out of the hole they are in at the moment. Initially, it was a case of both batsmen playing the New Zealand bowling with the respect it deserved. Tim Southee was able to make the ball do most of the talking as the Pakistanis were beginning to get hammered into the ground.

After the first 30 minutes, both batsmen began to cash in. While it was Sarfraz who began playing his regular game, it was clear that Babar Azam was playing the longer game. In what was a 74-run partnership as far as both batsmen were concerned, it was clear that the plan was to bat as many overs as possible.

The morning session saw Babar Azam reach a well-deserved half-century as the rains began playing spoilsport for the most part. It was almost a 30 odd overs before Neil Wagner could make the much-needed breakthrough when the off-stump line once again made its way back to trouble the batsmen as it has for the most part down under.

Wagner is a genuine exponent of outswing, something that sees the ball reversing for the most part given the overcast conditions as well as the late movement, something that has been the downfall of almost 80 percent of the batsmen. Sarfraz Ahmed was one of these batsmen as Jeet Raval completed the catch in the slips, one of the many catches that have been snapped up in the slip cordon.

The breakthrough, despite being a much-needed one, gave little or no respite as far as the New Zealand bowlers were concerned. While it was Babar Azam who was making amends with the bat for the Pakistanis, it was Sohail Khan who they had to deal with in terms of bowling to. Sohail Khan had impressed quite a bit with the bat in the first innings with some impressive batsmanship and was ready yet again to reprise his role in the second innings as well.

After waiting out the first few deliveries, it was the same Sohail Khan that the Kiwis had to deal with in the first innings. He began to smack the ball to various parts of the ground as his innings included four boundaries and two sixes, something that had last been seen in the first innings. After a fighting 37, it was the similar delivery that dismissed Sarfraz that was the eventual undoing of Sohail Khan.

Babar Azam was however, denuded a century as the last few wickets in the form of Mohammad Amir, Imran Khan, and Wahab Riaz fell like nine pins. Finally, it was Azam who would carry his bat to the following innings as he remained unbeaten on 90.

All Jeet Raval had to do towards the close of play was fend off one delivery from Mohammad Amir as the heavens opened up to bring a premature end to the play.

Brief Scores:

New Zealand, 1st innings: 271 all out

Pakistan, 1st innings: 216 all out (B Azam 90; Tim Southee 6/80)

New Zealand, 2nd innings: 0/0