New Zealand 431; Pakistan 112-6 at tea on day 3 of 1st test

By Associated Press 28 December 2020, 12:00AM

MOUNT MAUNGANUI, New Zealand (AP) — Captain Mohammad Rizwan helped Pakistan weather the second session better than the first Monday on the third day of the first cricket test against New Zealand.

Pakistan lost four wickets in the first session to slump from 30-1 overnight to 62-5 at lunch, replying to New Zealand’s first innings of 431.

The tourists lost only one wicket in the second session, thanks to Rizwan who batted between lunch and tea to be 29 not out at the break. Faheem Ashraf was 21, the pair had added 32 for the seventh wicket and Pakistan had recovered a little to 112-6.

The session was shortened by a 20-minute rain delay then by a heavy hailstorm which caused players to dash from the field and tea to be taken early.

Scoring was painfully slow in the first session but picked up a little in the second as Pakistan added 50 runs from 21 overs for the loss of one wicket.

Fawad Alam was the only man out, caught by wicketkeeper B.J. Watling from the bowling of Neil Wagner when Pakistan was 80-6. Wagner was bowling despite suffering a broken toe while batting on the second day.

He tested Fawad and Rizwan with a series of short deliveries before Fawad played a rash hook shot and feathered a fine top edge to Watling.

During the first session New Zealand captured the wickets of Abid Ali for 25, nightwatchman Mohammad Abbas for 5, Azhar Ali for 5 and Haris Sohail for 3 as the Pakistan top order crumbled.

Kyle Jamieson set the collapse in motion by removing Abid. He first troubled the batsman with a ball which reared disconcertingly off a length, then bowled him with a full delivery, angled in on off stump as Abid hovered on his crease.

Captain Kane Williamson immediately brought back Trent Boult who bowled around the wicket to Abbas and had him caught at slip by Ross Taylor with the last ball of his new over. Taylor claimed his 150th catch in tests.

Abbas came to the crease late on the first day and defied the New Zealand bowlers for 79 minutes. He took 37 balls to get off the mark but he did his job, making New Zealand’s bowlers work hard for his wicket.

As wickets tumbled the Pakistan batsmen became focused on survival and the scoring rate all but ground to a halt — only 32 runs were scored from 26 overs in the first session. That mindset made them more vulnerable, causing batsmen to become too tentative in their footwork, more reluctant to leave outside off stump.

Azhar (5) dangled his bat at a ball from Tim Southee which was wide off, angling away. His faint edge to Watling wasn’t heard by the umpire but couldn’t deceive the television replay.

Four balls later Southee dismissed Haris Sohail (3) who drove at a slower ball which may have swung late. Without using his feet, he made poor contact and skewed the ball to Henry Nicholls in the gully.

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More AP sports: https://apnews.com/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

By Associated Press 28 December 2020, 12:00AM

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