Twitter Reactions: New Zealand fightback by restricting Pakistan's lead to 74

The match is hanging in the balance at the moment.

By Aditya Gajanan Kukalyekar verified

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4 Min Read

Kane Williamson
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Kane Williamson. (Photo Source: Twitter)

After getting bowled out on 153 on the very first day of the Abu Dhabi Test match, New Zealand had found themselves in a hole. But their bowlers didn’t lose heart and brought their A game to the fore to make a stunning comeback. They have restricted Pakistan to 227 in the first innings and most importantly didn’t let their lead stretch above 74. In their second essay, the visitors put up a decent show to end the day on a high.

Kane Williamson and Jeet Raval played with extra caution in the final session after Tom Latham was dismissed for a golden duck by Hasan Ali with a corker of a delivery. At stumps, New Zealand were 56/1 when the play was called off due to bad light with close to four overs were yet to be bowled. Williamson remains the key for them as they still trail by 18 runs in the second innings and have a great chance to bat Pakistan out of the game with the pitch turning excessively.

Babar and Shafiq deny early honours

Earlier in the day, Pakistan resumed the day at 59/2 with Haris Sohail and Azhar Ali looking solid as ever. They denied the opposition a wicket in the first hour and added 32 runs. But Pakistan were dealt with a double blow on the score of 91 as both the overnight batsmen were dismissed by Trent Boult and Ish Sodhi. At 91/4, Babar Azam and Asad Shafiq were new to the crease.

They soaked in all the pressure and made sure that the two wickets didn’t affect their position in the game. The duo stitched a vital stand of 83 runs for the fifth and just when things were going Pakistan’s way, Trent Boult’s reverse swing did wonders for the Kiwis. He nipped out Shafiq who was looking good on 43 and then the debutant Ajaz Patel sent back Sarfraz Ahmed and Bilal Asif in quick succession.

The famous Pakistan collapse

Meanwhile, Babar played some delightful strokes and put an exhibition of caution mixed with aggression approach. But he kept on losing the partners at the other end and eventually succumbed as the last wicket. He scored 62 runs off 109 deliveries and added some important runs with the tail. From 173/4, the hosts were bundled out for 227 runs thanks to Boult who scalped four wickets.

The lead of 74 runs was a missed opportunity for Pakistan to bat the opponents out of the game. They’ve blown away a great chance and now found themselves in trouble, not entirely though, with New Zealand putting up a better resistance. They will have to go past Williamson who is looking determined to take his team to the safety. Day three will be most probably decide the fate of the game as it hangs in balance.

Here’s how Twitter reacted during the day:

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