New Zealand v Pakistan, 2nd Test, Day 4 - 5 Talking Points

The day 4 of the second Test between New Zealand and Pakistan was set up beautifully for the home side after they had imposed a first innings lead of 55 runs on the visitors. The Kiwi bowlers had done their part well and then it was time for the batsmen to carry the momentum forward and script a whitewash in the 2-Tests series.

And as it turned out, the day went completely in favor of the Kiwis. Tom Latham and Kane Williamson were clinical in steadying the innings up the order which was followed by a superb hundred from Ross Taylor. Then late fireworks from Colin de Grandhomme ensured that Pakistan was batted out of the match.

Pakistani bowlers toiled hard but the classy batting from the Kiwis didn’t give them too many opportunities. New Zealand declared at the score of 313/5 which meant that Pakistan was given a target of 369 in the fourth innings which looks highly improbable at this stage. They had 3 tough overs to face late in the day which they managed to survive.

Here are the 5 major talking points from the day as New Zealand strengthened their grip on the match.

Also check out- Twitter Reactions: New Zealand ask Pakistan to chase 369 to win the 2nd Test

1. Latham-Williamson survived the early scare:

The start of the play saw the Pakistani bowlers hitting the right lines and lengths and the first 4 overs did not yield a run. In just the 8th over Mohammad Amir trapped the opener Jeet Raval in front of the wickets at the score of 11. The other pacers Sohail Khan, Imran Khan and Wahab Riaz also did not make it easy for the batsmen.

The lead wasn’t heavy yet and a few quick wickets could have led to a collapse at that stage. But Latham and Williamson constructed a wonderful partnership of 96 runs for the second wicket and laid a great foundation for the middle order to build on to the lead.

2. Tom Latham’s run back to form:

The left-hander enjoyed a fruitful time on the tour to India and turned out to be one of the biggest positives for the Kiwis. But against Pakistan, he had lost the track a bit and in the 3 previous innings, he had managed scores of 1, 9, and 0. He left all that behind and was prepared to spend time at the crease which is pretty much his natural game.

Latham scored 80 runs off 150 balls which consisted of 12 boundaries before Wahab Riaz ended his stint at the crease in the 51st over. He would be utterly disappointed having missed out on a chance of scoring his 6th hundred in Test cricket.

3. Ross Taylor’s hundred came at the right time:

The most experienced batsman of the current New Zealand squad was under a lot of pressure before the match due to his poor run of form. He had a terrible time in India and questions were raised about his position in the team. It was important for him to turn up with an innings to revive his stature in the squad and he did just that with a magnificent hundred. He batted at a strike rate of 76.12 in his innings of 102 runs off 134 balls and sent the ball to the boundary 16 times. His 16th hundred in Tests ensured the Kiwis were placed in a position of dominance at the end of day 4.

Also read- NZ v PAK, 2nd Test Day 4 Review: Ross Taylor century puts Kiwis on top

4. Grandhomme’s cameo:

The 30-year-old has impressed one and all since he stepped onto the field to make his debut at Christchurch in the first Test against Pakistan. Grandhomme had picked up 6 wickets in his very first innings with the ball and made useful contributions with the bat too that earned him the man of the match award. Here as well he picked up a wicket in the first innings and scored 37 runs. And he followed it up with a quickfire 32 off 21 balls with 6 boundaries. With just 2 Tests under his belt, he has already shown signs of becoming a prominent all-rounder for the Kiwis.

5. Late declaration?

New Zealand waited for Ross Taylor to get to his century and then declared with a lead of 368 runs. Judging by the batting efforts of the Pakistan team, that was going to be more than enough which brings the argument into contention whether the declaration could have been made a bit earlier.

They had only 3 overs to bowl at the Pakistani openers which did not pose too much threat to them. If they had settled for a lead of just over 300 runs and given close to 15 overs to the bowlers, they might have picked up a couple of wickets at the stumps. The rain also has been a huge factor in the game so far and if it troubles on day 5 as well, the game might well end up in a draw.