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KARACHI: It was always going to be draw but, since Pakistan were involved, such a take was a naive one. The hosts did come up to what was expected from them as their first Test against New Zealand saw an absorbing conclusion here at the National Stadium on Friday.
In the space of less than three sessions, Pakistan went from facing an innings defeat to challenging the visitors for a T20-esque chase after captain Babar Azam made an unanticipated declaration with an hour to play.
New Zealand may have been surprised by Babar’s move, but drooled at the chance to win what had been, for most of its part, a dull contest, only for bad light to steal their thunder. And maybe, Pakistan’s as well.
Needing 137 to win in a maximum of 17 overs, New Zealand had plundered the Pakistan bowlers for 61 runs at a staggering rate of more than eight by the seventh over before umpire Aleem Dar checked the light and the players shook hands.
“You never know, its cricket and anything can happen,” Babar said of the declaration in the post-match press conference.
“I understand it might have shocked many people but we wanted to take a chance.”
Had bad light not intervened, Babar may have been ruing his decision to declare but it won’t be unfair to say that Pakistan earned the privilege for their captain to make the call.
Trailing by 74 runs with just six wickets in hand after had Babar departed cheaply, the home side were rescued by crucial contributions from Sarfraz Ahmed, Imam-ul-Haq, Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Wasim to gain a fairly tangible lead.
New Zealand struck early in the day when nightwatchman Nauman Ali was trapped lbw by off-spinner Michael Bracewell just four balls after Imam added five to his overnight score of 45 to reach his fifty.
In came Babar with a heavy load of expectations on his shoulders to save the match for Pakistan. He looked in good touch when he pulled two half-trackers by Bracewell for two fours in one over. But soon after, he became Sodhi’s second victim — first of the day — when he totally missed another short one that struck him in front.
The Pakistan skipper almost crawled back to the pavilion. With his head down, he slapped his pads with the bat and shadowed a backfoot defensive stroke — thinking what could have been.
Babar’s departure meant in came Sarfraz, who had played a gem of an innings for 86 in the first innings of his maiden appearance in Pakistan in what was his 50th Test.
As a wicket-keeper, he had have a forgettable comeback, missing stumping chances and failing to hear edges. That would have been on his mind as he took the mark on his crease.
But it was confirmed he was at absolute ease when he dispatched New Zealand captain Tim Southee’s pace with a square drive and then flicked for his second boundary.
The counterattack was on, but Sodhi, on the other hand was giving a few problems to Imam. Especially with his googly that beat the left-hander from around the wicket. Imam was trying his best to negotiate with the spin on a deteriorating surface with nifty footwork, but the question was; for how long?
Spin wasn’t a big problem for Sarfraz, though. In his first over against it, he swept Ajaz Patel twice for boundaries before thumping the left-armer for another in front of cover as a bunch of kids in the sparse crowd chanted “Saifi, Saifi”.
The former Pakistan captain knew Imam was struggling against Sodhi and exchanged ends with him before paddling the leg-spinner for his sixth boundary.
Imam regained his confidence with a towering six against Patel as he came down the wicket to launch it over long-on.
With Sarfraz looking unfazed by Patel and Sodhi, Southee brought pacer Neil Wagner into the attack with the field packed with catchers on the offside.
But it was Wagner only, who bowled a wide one that went for four byes as Pakistan overcame the deficit.
Sarfraz was playing at 49 in the last over before lunch and blocked three balls on five balls on the trot as Pakistan went into the break with a lead of seven runs.
The 35-year-old did bring up his fifty with a four off Sodhi but poked on a wide one to get caught behind at 53, ending a 85-run partnership between him and Imam.
Pakistan reached the 200-run mark after Imam and Salman Ali Agha hit two fours each. Imam cut Bracewell for another to move to 95 but the hosts were stunned when Salman was cleaned up with a Sodhi googly that went through the gates to castle the right-hander.
Sodhi then completed his five-wicket haul when Imam finally faltered four runs away from a century, missing a googly that left him way outside his crease for New Zealand wicket-keeper Tom Blundell to complete the stumping.
Leading by just 32 runs, Pakistan were reeling with seven wickets down but then it was Saud and Wasim’s time to combine for what went on to become a 71-run stand for the eighth wicket that took the side further away from danger.
Wasim showed immense composure but played shots at will — against both spin and pace — when the ball was in his slot, while Saud provided safety from the other end.
The duo carried Pakistan until tea and further before Wasim was trapped leg-before at 43 by Sodhi to become the leg-spinner’s sixth prey as the hosts lead by 102 runs.
With Wasim gone, Saud became the aggressor. The left-hander launched Patel over wide-long for a boundary before paddling him for two more and picked the wide long-on position for a six to bring up his fifth Test fifty before Babar made the declaration signal from the Pakistan dressing room.
“There was a bit of assistance if bowled in the right areas, but a couple of good innings took the game to safety for them,” Southee said of Pakistan’s show with the bat.
The right-armer praised Sodhi, who was playing his first Test in four years. “I think he can be extremely proud of his return to Test cricket,” Southee said.
The two sides will clash in the second and final Test from Monday.
Scoreboard
PAKISTAN (1st Innings) 438 (Babar Azam 161, Agha Salman 103; Tim Southee 3-69)
NEW ZEALAND (1st Innings) 612-9 decl (K. Williamson 200 not out, T. Latham 113, D. Conway 92; Abrar Ahmed 5-205)
PAKISTAN (2nd Innings, overnight 77-2):
Abdullah Shafique c sub (Phillips) b Bracewell 17
Imam-ul-Haq st Blundell b Sodhi 96
Shan Masood lbw b Sodhi 10
Nauman Ali lbw b Bracewell 4
Babar Azam lbw b Sodhi 14
Sarfraz Ahmed c Blundell b Sodhi 53
Agha Salman b Sodhi 6
Saud Shakeel not out 55
Mohammad Wasim lbw b Sodhi 43
Mir Hamza not out 3
EXTRAS (B-8, NB-2) 10
TOTAL (for eight wickets decl, 104 overs) 311
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-47 (Abdullah), 2-71 (Shan), 3-82 (Nauman), 4-100 (Babar), 5-185 (Sarfraz), 6-205 (Salman), 7-206 (Imam), 8-277 (Wasim)
DID NOT BAT: Abrar Ahmed
BOWLING: Southee 15-5-39-0, Patel 24-2-89-0, Bracewell 25-5-82-2, Sodhi 37-11-86-6 (1nb), Wagner 3-0-7-0 (1nb)
NEW ZEALAND (2nd Innings):
M. Bracewell b Abrar 3
D. Conway not out 18
T. Latham not out 35
EXTRAS (PEN-5) 5
TOTAL (for one wicket, 7.3 overs) 61
DID NOT BAT: K. Williamson, H. Nicholls, D. Mitchell, T. Blundell, I. Sodhi, T. Southee, N. Wagner, A. Patel
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-4 (Bracewell)
BOWLING: Abrar 3-0-23-1, Salman 2-0-14-0, Wasim 1.3-0-15-0, Hamza 1-0-4-0
RESULT: Match drawn.