New Zealand v Pakistan, 2nd Test, Day 2 - 5 Talking Points

Day 2 of the second Test in Hamilton saw 13 wickets fall, with New Zealand all out for 271 and Pakistan, in response, struggling on 76/5 at stumps. Tim Southee (3/26) produced an admirable spell that coupled with a burst of wickets from Neil Wagner (2/15) enabled the hosts to end the day at Seddon Park in a position of dominance. Earlier, New Zealand ended on 271 just a few overs after tea, with the help of some appreciable knocks from Jeet Raval, BJ Watling and Colin de Grandhomme.

1.Sohail picks 4/99:

Fast bowler Sohail Khan emerged as the pick of the bowler for Pakistan today. The right arm fast bowler, known for his workhorse like bowling ability, reaped benefits of the late swing and claimed top order wickets of Kane Williamson and later lower middle order wicket of Mitchell Santner and Tim Southee to effect maximum damage to the Kiwi batting order. Sohail made sure none of the batsmen were able to settle down and form big stands. Though he didn’t take wickets in quick interval but he landed timely strikes to hurt the momentum of the batting side.

2.The support act by Amir and Imran Khan:

Mohammad Amir and Imran Khan also played huge role in the first innings. While Sohail returned with the best figures of the innings, Amir and Imran kept the pressure tight and never let the New Zealanders to get going.

Amir was the first to strike for Pakistan with wickets of Tom Latham yesterday in a lively opening spell of fast bowling. Later as Sohail began to create inroads in the opposition batting order, Imran also found his rhythm and started to look effective.

His first wicket was actually the most prized wicket of the first innings – Jeet Raval. Later on, he broke the thriving partnership between Colin de Grandhomme and BJ Watling with wickets of the former. This was perhaps a game-changing moment as the duo has frustrated the Pakistanis a lot. His last wicket came when he snapped Wager to put an end to New Zealand’s innings.

3. Jeet Raval shines again:

Opener Jeet Raval is slowly cementing his position as the opener in the side. After impressing on debut with scores of 55 and 36*, the left-handed batsman produced yet another sensible knock and hit his second career half century, top scoring for his team with 55. Raval’s contribution holds great importance as it was him who held the fort for his team at the start when Tom Latham and Kane Williamson lost their wickets cheaply. His knock, though not gigantic, must be appreciated for the way he battled it out against the in-form looking Pakistan fast bowlers, especially Mohammad Amir.

4. BJ Watling and de Grandhomme bring turnaround:

New Zealand had reached stability with the help of Ross Taylor and Jeet Raval who piloted the innings after the early blows. But, the batting side again slumped and found themselves reduced to 119/5 after Taylor, Raval and Henry Nicholls were dismissed in short successions.

But, fortunately, the hosts had wicket-keeper BJ Watling and Colin de Grandhomme to rescue them from the pit. The duo added 51 for the 6th wicket, the joint best for New Zealand in the first in the first innings along with Raval–Taylor stand for the 3rd wicket. Watling proved to be defiant while de Grandhomme further added another layer of his reputation of being a reliable all-rounder.

5. Wobbly start for Pakistan:

Pakistan will have their hopes pinned on their two unbeaten batsmen – Babar Azam (34) and Sarfraz Ahmed (9) after a horrible start to their response.

Tim Southee wrecked the top order in no time, taking the wickets of openers Sami Islam, Azhar Ali and Younis Khan inside the first 9 nine over to leave Pakistan reeling at 12/3. The the first 15 over, in fact, were all about survival for Pakistan rather than making runs.

Asad Shafiq and Mohammad Rizwan looked to have found the rhythm but Neil Wagner twin strike in the 22nd over which saw both Shafiq and Rizwan depart off successive delivery. Though Wagner could not complete his hat-trick, his blows were enough to put New Zealand on top.