New Zealand vs Pakistan: Yasir Shah hands his Test cap to a fan in the crowd
Shah picked three wickets in the first innings but returned wicketless in the second.
Yasir Shah, the Pakistan leg-spinner, is among the greatest in his country. The tweaker mostly came to the fore after Saeed Ajmal had troubles with his bowling action. Though he hasn’t been able to make much of an impact in the ODI and T20I formats, he emerged as a priceless asset in the Test team. He is currently a part of Pakistan’s eleven in the opening Test against New Zealand.
At the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui, the North-West Frontier Province-born Shah had his moments. In the first innings, he got rid of opposition skipper Kane Williamson, Tim Southee and Neil Wagner. But in the second innings, the veteran spinner couldn’t make a breakthrough in the six overs he bowled. However, one of his acts of sportsmanship caught the attention of the fans.
Yasir Shah’s heartfelt gesture
In the video doing the rounds on social media, Shah was seen handing his Test cap to one of the fans in the crowd. Shah threw the cap to the supporter, who was absolutely overjoyed after the bowler’s gesture. The fan, thereafter, donned the cap with pride and showed it off to the other fans.
Here’s the video:
As far as the ongoing Test is concerned, the Black Caps can be said to be on the driver’s seat. At the close of play on the fourth day, there’s a possibility of all three results. With one day left, Pakistan need 302 runs with seven wickets left in their second innings. Chasing 373, the visiting team didn’t get off to the best of starts as they lost Shan Masood and Abid Ali without a run on the board.
Haris Sohail also perished without getting into the double digits. At a time when Southee and Boult were firing on all cylinders, Azhar Ali and Fawad Alam have steadied the ship. They have put on an unbeaten partnership of 34 runs in 20.1 overs.
Even as Azhar is not out on 34 off 117, Alam has looked resilient with a 55-ball 21. Coming back to Yasir, he also has a Test century to his name. If he is needed to bat later in the game, he might well want to contribute with the bat as well.
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