PAK vs NZ: Naseem Shah fixes Karachi pitch with hammer as curator looks on silently

Pakistan’s emerging pacer Naseem Shah turned pitch curator as he decided to fix the wicket with a hammer on Day 4 of the ongoing second Test match against New Zealand at the National Bank Arena in Karachi.

The Test series has turned out to be a forgettable one for the bowlers of both sides as they have toiled hard for breakthroughs where the batters have made merry resulting in the teams posting mammoth totals on the board.

Even the series opener that was played on a perfect flat track ended in a stalemate last week as Pakistan and New Zealand aim to get this one right to seal the series.

Naseem Shah fails to hold his frustrations against the Karachi wicket

The New Zealand batters were batting exceptionally well and the home team bowlers tried their level best to pick up wickets but to no avail. At one point in time, Naseem Shah seemed to have had enough as he decided to take matters into his own hands.

Shah took the hammer from the curator and tried to even out the footmarks. He looked to be angry while doing so as the pitch curator looked on silently.

The video was posted by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on its official Twitter handle. Watch it here.

"Doing the hard work himself" 🔨@iNaseemShah turns Thor!#PAKvNZ | #TayyariKiwiHai pic.twitter.com/l0EhxfJOyN

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) January 5, 2023

The commentators had a gala time on air while watching Naseem Shah vent out his frustrations and Waqar Younis who was commentating during that time said, “Doesn't trust the curator at all, he wants to do it himself and he's making sure he takes his time.”

Naseem Shah did not enjoy a great spell in the second innings as he finished with figures of 1/43. He picked up the wicket of opener Tom Latham for 62 as the Kiwis eventually went on to declare their innings at 277/5 including vital half-centuries from wicketkeeper-batter Tom Blundell (74) and Michael Bracewell (74*).

Chasing a challenging target of 319, the hosts are in deep trouble as they ended the day’s play without troubling the scorers by losing two wickets in the form of opener Abdullah Shafique and night watchman Mir Hamza. 

 For Better Experience: Download CricTracker Mobile App