Tag: New Zealand vs Pakistan

KARACHI: Pakistan wicketkeeper batter Sarfaraz Ahmed scripted a remarkable comeback as he smashed his first Test century since his return and fourth overall in the ongoing second Test against New Zealand.

Coming out to bat at number six when Pakistan were struggling at 77/4 and soon 80/5 when Shan Masood departed, launched a counterattack on the Kiwi bowlers by swiftly ticking the scoreboard.

The right-handed batter stitched a fighting 123-run partnership with Saud Shakeel and brought Pakistan back in the hunt.

Sarfaraz kept fighting despite Saud’s dismissal and went on to smash his first Test century since his return and his fourth overall in the longest format.

Notably, Sarfaraz had scored three consecutive half-centuries since his return.

Following his remarkable century, Sarfaraz has gone past Mohammad Rizwan in the list of highest batting averages by wicketkeeper batters for Pakistan in Tests.

Furthermore, Sarfaraz has also scored the most runs by a Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter in a Test series having three matches or less. He also became the only Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter to amass four fifty-plus scores in a Test series.

At the time this story was filed Pakistan were 249/6 in 78 overs with Sarfaraz (109*) and Salman Ali Agha (16*) unbeaten at the crease. The hosts further needed 70 runs in 15 overs.

READ: Sarfaraz, Saud keep Pakistan afloat as second Test enters decisive phase

KARACHI: Pakistan’s young leg spinner Usama Mir was left awestruck following his inclusion in the recently-announced ODI squad for the home series against New Zealand.

Usama, who was adjudged the best bowler of the recently-concluded Pakistan Cup, got the reward for his consistent performance in the domestic tournament as he received maiden call-up to the national side for the upcoming ODI series against New Zealand.

The leg-spinner was sensational in the Pakistan Cup 2022/23 as he picked up 28 wickets in 11 matches with the best bowling figures of 5/23.

🙏🏼🙏🏼 https://t.co/9Epf2xQPFY

— Usama Mir (@iamusamamir) January 3, 2023

 

The 27-year-old was not among the 24 probables announced for the home ODI series thus his shock inclusion left him awestruck.

Taking to Twitter, Usama expressed his excitement while at the same time looking astounded by the call-up.

“NO WAYYYYY,” Usama wrote on Twitter as interim chief selector Shahid Afridi announced his name among the ODI squad.

😳😳😳😳😳😳 NO WAYYYYY

— Usama Mir (@iamusamamir) January 5, 2023

“Feels like a dream seeing my name selected in this squad. Alhamdulillah,” Usama wrote in another tweet.

Feels like a dream seeing my name selected in this squad. Alhamdulilah🤲🤲🤲🤲 #PAKvNZ pic.twitter.com/uhgX96dto2

— Usama Mir (@iamusamamir) January 5, 2023

 

It is apropos to mention that Usama was included in the squad in light of the interim selection committee’s decision of resting all-rounder Shadab Khan; citing an injury to his right index finger.

Besides him, left-handed batters Haris Sohail and Shan Masood returned to the ODI squad while two uncapped players Kamran Ghulam and Tayyab Tahir also received call-ups.

READ: Bracewell, Blundell star as New Zealand set Pakistan to chase 319 

KARACHI: Pakistan’s ODI squad for the three-match ODI home series against New Zealand will be announced tomorrow, sources claimed.

According to the detail, the head of the Men’s Interim National Selection Committee, Shahid Afridi, will name a 16-member national squad for the upcoming white-ball assignment from the list of 24 probables selected by the committee.

“Consultation has been made with head coach Saqlain Mushtaq and captain Babar Azam regarding the players’ selection for the One-Day squad,” Afridi said.

Last week, the interim selection committee for the national men’s team initially named 21 probables for the home ODI series. Later, fast bowler Mohammad Hasnain and batters Haris Sohail and Fakhar Zaman were added to the list.

It is pertinent to mention here that the three-game ODI series will commence on January 9 (Monday) after the conclusion of the ongoing second Test on Friday.

PROBABLES:

Babar Azam (c), Abdullah Shafiq, Abrar Ahmed, Aamer Jamal, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Ihsanullah, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Qasim Akram, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan, Shahnawaz Dahani, Shan Masood, Sharjeel Khan Tayyab Tahir, Mohammad Hasnain, Fakhar Zaman and Haris Sohail

KARACHI: Pakistan’s left-handed middle-order batter Saud Shakeel who brought up his maiden Test century on the third day of the ongoing second Test against New Zealand, shared it was always his dream to score his first hundred at his home ground.

Coming out to bat when Pakistan were struggling at 99/3, Saud displayed sheer grit as he batted for almost four sessions and settled things down for the hosts with his fighting century.

Following the achievement, the left-handed batter expressed satisfaction and claimed it was always his dream to score his maiden century on his home ground.

“First of all, thanks to Almighty Allah as I managed to score my first century. I scored my maiden first-class century at [National Bank Cricket Arena] and I was hopeful for scoring my first international century here,” said Saud.

“Because the ground you grow up playing in, you know a lot about it,” he added.

Saud then also credited wicketkeeper batter Sarfaraz Ahmed for guiding him in the process as he shared he got nervous in the 90s.

“I think when he was at the crease with me when I was in my 90s, I got a bit nervous during a couple of overs but he told me not to take tension and I will get there,” shared Saud.

“He’s a very senior player and I have played beside him since my childhood so it was fortunate for me that he was there and guided me really well and by the will of Allah, I scored a century,” he added.

It is worth mentioning that left-handed middle-order batter Saud put up a brave fight with his gritty maiden Test century and barred New Zealand from bundling out the hosts as Pakistan hung on for 407/9 at the Stumps.

Starting from an overnight score of 154/3, Pakistan added 253 runs to the total and lost six wickets throughout the day, with Saud and Sarfaraz Ahmed punching an astounding partnership of 150 runs before New Zealand made a comeback in the game.

Saud (124*) and Abrar Ahmed (0*) will now resume Pakistan’s first innings on the fourth day as the hosts still trail by 42 runs.

READ: New Zealand keeper Blundell comments on Sarfaraz Ahmed’s dismissal 

KARACHI: New Zealand wicketkeeper Tom Blundell commented on the debated dismissal of his Pakistani counterpart Sarfaraz Ahmed and shared his initial take on the “lucky” breakthrough.

Blundell talked to the media following the conclusion of the third day’s action of the ongoing second Test and responded to a question regarding Sarfaraz’s stumping by stating at first he did not think it was out.

“At first, I don’t think it was out. Umm, and then obviously looking on the big screen, you know there was a bit of chance and for me, it was just to get the bails off as quick as possible,” said Blundell.

“And, you know fortunately for me it was the perfect timing,” he added.

Notably, Sarfaraz, who scored his third consecutive half-century since his return; courtesy of a magnificent 78-run knock in the first innings of the ongoing second Test, endured a frustrating end to his brave knock.

Daryll Mitchell bowled the third delivery of the 100th over full on the leg side and deceived Sarfaraz with his counterpart Blundell dislodging the bails sharply and leg-umpire referred the decision to the third umpire Ahsan Raza.

After watching various replays from multiple angles, Ahsan decided that Sarfaraz had nothing grounded behind the crease and thus, gave him out.

Sarfaraz’s dismissal has enraged cricket fans, who are convinced that the dismissal was umpiring blunder and that the wicketkeeper batter deserved to be given the benefit of doubt.

It is pertinent to mention that left-handed middle-order batter Saud Shakeel put up a brave fight with his gritty maiden Test century and barred New Zealand from bundling out the hosts as Pakistan hung on for 407/9 at the Stumps.

Starting from an overnight score of 154/3, Pakistan added 253 runs to the total and lost six wickets throughout the day, with Saud and Sarfaraz Ahmed punching an astounding partnership of 150 runs before New Zealand made a comeback in the game.

Saud (124*) and Abrar Ahmed (0*) will now resume Pakistan’s first innings on the fourth day as the hosts still trail by 42 runs.

READ: Saud defies New Zealand attack as Pakistan hold on to 407/9 at Stumps

KARACHI: Pakistan’s wicketkeeper batter Sarfaraz Ahmed’s controversial dismissal in the first innings of the ongoing second Test against New Zealand enraged cricket fans.

Sarfaraz scored his third consecutive half-century since his return, courtesy of his magnificent 78-run knock under pressure, which, however, ended in a bizarre fashion.

Daryll Mitchell bowled the third delivery of the 100th over full on the leg side and deceived Sarfaraz with his counterpart Tom Blundell dislodging the bails sharply and leg-umpire referred the appeal to the third umpire Ahsan Raza.

After watching various replays from multiple angles, Ahsan decided that Sarfaraz had nothing grounded behind the crease and thus, gave him out.

Sarfaraz’s dismissal sparked enrage among the fans who called out the umpires for their blunders and insisted that they should have given the benefit of doubt to the batter.

Here’s how they reacted:

I Think Saifi Bhai Was Not Out.#PAKvNZ

— waliiiii (@messeduppp1) January 4, 2023

https://twitter.com/AliiRazaa14/status/1610584561926406144

Muje to not out lag Raha hai Saifi Bhai 🧐😨

— 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘩𝘪𝘥 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘯 (@Shahidameen2526) January 4, 2023

https://twitter.com/pct_forlife/status/1610575216047947778

https://twitter.com/Babar5656/status/1610574267992743936

Poor Saifi Bhai, Home umpires surely are against us at this point.

— Ramiya (@yehtuhogaaa) January 4, 2023

Saifi bhai has been robbed.

— Azlan Mehmood (@azlanmahmood1) January 4, 2023

It is pertinent to mention that the fifth-wicket partnership between Sarfaraz and Saud Shakeel lifted Pakistan after New Zealand piled up 449 runs in the first innings.

After Sarfaraz’s dismissal, Salman Ali Agha put on a handy 63-run partnership with Saud before falling to Ajaz Patel after scoring 41.

When this story was filed Pakistan were 393/7 and still 56 runs behind.

READ: Sarfaraz completes 6000 international runs across formats 

KARACHI: Pakistan’s left-handed opener Imam-ul-Haq opened up on his mix-up between the wicket with skipper Babar Azam and asserted that the latter could not hear his call.

Babar fell prey to miscommunication in the 25th over when Pakistan were struggling to overcome the horrible start. Imam worked through Michael Bracewell’s delivery with Henry Nicholls chasing.

The skipper wanted to make it three and ran desperately after completing the second. Imam, on the other hand, started off but soon stopped with Babar already more than halfway down with Imam returning to his crease and Bracewell did no mistake to dislodge the bails.

Imam in an interview following the conclusion of the second day’s play of the second Test responded to a question regarding Babar’s frustrating run-out after both batters ended up at the same end and termed it miscommunication.

“Look it is cricket and run-outs happen. Unfortunately, we have been in such a situation two-three times before and I also got run-out against West Indies and today he got run-out,” said Imam.

“It is a part of the game and now will try to console him,” Imam added cheekily.

“Once again, it is cricket. But, I think it was a misunderstanding and he could not listen to my call of ‘No’ so he kept running and when I saw him he was standing right beside me and it was too late then,” Imam shared.

“So, such miscommunication occurs in cricket sometimes,” he concluded.

It is worth mentioning here that New Zealand pushed Pakistan to the backfoot by dismantling the hosts’ top order after posting a mammoth 449 runs in the first innings of the ongoing second Test.

Left-handed batters Imam and Saud Shakeel, however, launched a counter-attack as they raised a 55-run partnership for the fourth wicket before stumps.

Imam (74*) and Saud (13*) will now resume Pakistan’s first innings at 154/3 as they are still 295 runs behind.

READ: ‘Biggest New Year’s resolution is to win the World Cup,’ says Pandya

KARACHI: Pakistan batting coach Mohammad Yousuf asserted opening batter Abdullah Shafique’s dismissal on the second day of the second Test against New Zealand was unlucky.

Yousuf, while talking to the media following the conclusion of the second day’s play responded to a question regarding opener Abdullah’s struggling patch and his dismissal by stating that the latter is trying hard to get away and going but he just got unlucky in the process.

“He scored a century in the first Test against England and has been struggling since then and I think the field is like an examination hall for a player. So, if a player is struggling then it is difficult to interfere in the technical elements involved,” stated Yousuf.

“But, some of the tuning and conversation get going with him and he himself is trying hard in this regard so, obviously if any player experience such situations as we did in our time when four-five innings go bad then it feels even harder for the batter.

“But, he still keeps doing something for it. So, in my opinion, it is even more inappropriate to disturb him during the strive. Since it is hard for a batter to get over his struggling patch after four-five bad innings yet it is not impossible.

“I even think he got unlucky this time as the ball bounced a little too much and came slow and produced a top edge.”

Yousuf then denied the speculations regarding Shan Masood and Abdullah being given instructions to play a bit more aggressively and made clear that the management always backs players to play their natural games.

“It’s their own game. There is no such instruction from management or the captain. It has always been our stance to let players their natural game according to their strengths,” said Yousuf.

The batting coach then lamented the absence of clay soil in the country to make more lively and result-generating wickets, while also credited New Zealand tailenders Ajaz Patel and Matt Henry for their astounding 10th-wicket partnership.

It is worth mentioning here that New Zealand pushed Pakistan to the backfoot by dismantling the hosts’ top order after posting a mammoth 449 runs in the first innings of the ongoing second Test.

Left-handed batters Imam-ul-Haq and Saud Shakeel, however, launched a counter-attack as they raised a 55-run partnership for the fourth wicket before stumps.

Imam (74*) and Saud (13*) will now resume Pakistan’s first innings at 154/3 as they are still 295 runs behind.

READ: Imam, Saud hang on after Pakistan’s jittery start on Day 2 

KARACHI: The chief of the Men’s Interim National Selection Committee Shahid Afridi on Saturday, inspected the pitch being prepared for the upcoming second Test between Pakistan and New Zealand at National Bank Cricket Arena.

According to the details, Afridi, who was busy with his eldest daughter’s wedding ceremony, got back to work soon after as he visited the National Bank Cricket Arena in the morning and inspected the pitch.

In this regard, the former Pakistan captain also interacted with the groundsmen and instructed them to prepare a more lively and bouncy pitch for the second Test.

چیف سلیکٹر شاہد آفریدی کیجانب سے کیوریٹرز کو اچھی و معیاری پچز بنانے کی ہدایت…#ShahidAfridi #PakvsNz #Karachi@SAfridiOfficial pic.twitter.com/J1LPcfEwhU

— Ali Hasan 🏅 (@AaliHasan10) December 31, 2022

 

Following the inspection, Afridi also had a brief interaction with the media here and emphasized the importance of lively pitches to make sure the safeguarding of the bowlers and also termed it as the only way forward for Pakistan cricket.

“We cannot move forward if we keep playing on the pitches we played in the past. We want to modernize and improvise our cricket. Such pitches can prove to be harmful to the bowlers,” said Afridi.

“Good pitches can be made in Pakistan and we will try to make a bouncy pitch for the second Test,” he added.

It is pertinent to mention that the pitch for the recently-concluded first Test turned out to be a nightmare for the bowlers, especially the pacers as a mammoth 1422 runs were scored in response to 28 wickets.

READ: PAK vs NZ: PCB announces free entry for fans for the second Test

KARACHI: The dramatic first Test between Pakistan and New Zealand ended in a draw after captain Babar Azam called for a surprising declaration in the second innings and set the visitors to chase 138.

New Zealand set to chase 138 runs in 15 overs, could manage to amass 61/1 in response as the bad light halted the action and resulted in the match ending a draw.

Despite losing their opener Michael Bracewell in the first over, the touring side kept pushing for the victory as Tom Latham and Devon Conway scored at a rapid pace in pursuit.

Latham was unbeaten on 35, while Conway on 18 before the umpires called off the final day due to bad light.

Earlier in the final session, Pakistan captain Babar made a bold declaration briefly after Saud had strengthened the home side for a draw.

The home side, who was struggling at 206/7 before the Tea break made an astonishing recovery courtesy of a gritty 71-run stand between Saud and Mohammad Wasim Jr for the eighth wicket.

The pair frustrated the Kiwi bowlers and seemed to have settled down before Sodhi struck once again to break the vital partnership and brought New Zealand back into the game.

Sodhi trapped Wasim Jr in his legs and put an end to the latter’s brave knock. The all-rounder played an important knock of 43 runs.

Wasim’s dismissal, however, did not bother Saud much, who then stitched another fighting partnership for Pakistan as he added 34 runs for the 10th wicket with Mir Hamza.

The left-handed batter middle-order batter was unbeaten at 55 and seemed likely to carry his bat all the way through, what was anticipated to be a straightforward draw for Pakistan before Babar called their men back.

At the time of declaration, Pakistan were 311/8 and had piled up a 137-run lead over the touring side.

Sodhi led the bowling attack for New Zealand as he picked up six wickets for 86 runs, while Michael Bracewell could take two.

The second session of the final day of the ongoing first Test turned out to be an exciting one for the BlackCaps as they brightened the chances to clinch an astounding victory over hosts Pakistan.

The touring side leaked only 69 runs in the session and took three important wickets to push Pakistan on the back foot.

Sodhi was the man of the moment for New Zealand, who provided the breakthrough to his side as he got Sarfaraz Ahmed caught behind soon after his second consecutive half-century.

The wicketkeeper batter scored 53 off 76 deliveries, laced with seven boundaries.

Salman Ali Agha, who scored his maiden century in the first innings, could not stay for long at the crease as he was deceived by Sodhi’s brilliantly pitched googly that ended his knock for a mere six runs.

The leg-spinner then struck gold in his next over for New Zealand as he removed Pakistan’s top-scorer of the second innings Imam, who fell just four short of his century.

The opening batter scored 96 off 206 deliveries with the help of 10 boundaries and a six.

Following the slump, middle-order batter Saud Shakeel alongside all-rounder Mohammad Wasim Jr initiated the fightback as the pair added an unbeaten 43-run stand for the seventh wicket.

Saud (23) and Wasim (20) will now resume Pakistan’s second innings at 249/7 in the final session with a 75-run lead over the visitors.

Pakistan resuming their second innings at 77/2 with opener Imam and nightwatchman Nauman Ali had a shaky start to the final day of the first Test as the touring side broke the overnight stand within the first three overs.

Michael Bracewell provided New Zealand with an early breakthrough as he trapped Nauman in his legs to end his brief four-run knock; causing Pakistan to slip to 82/3.

The home side then dealt with a major blow when they lost their in-form captain Babar Azam for a mere 14 runs courtesy of a deceiving googly from Ish Sodhi.

Following the slump, Sarfaraz joined Imam in the middle and began to script an astounding recovery for the hosts.

The duo appeared solid and accumulated 81 runs to cut New Zealand’s lead before eventually achieving seven-run superiority over the BlackCaps.

At the stroke of Lunch, Imam was unbeaten on 81 off 171 deliveries, while Sarfaraz was just one run short of amassing his second consecutive half-century.

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