PAK v NZ 1st: Prior to the start of the final session on day 5 of the first Test match between Pakistan and New Zealand, it looked like the game will surely end in a draw. However, Pakistan skipper, Babar Azam took everyone by surprise after he declared the innings when Pakistan was at 311 for 8 in their second innings.
As a result, New Zealand needed 138 runs in 15 overs to win the Test match. Abrar Ahmed took the first wicket in the very first over and raised some hopes of registering a collapse.
However, Devon Conway then joined hands with Tom Latham and the duo led a counter-attack. He scored boundaries at regular intervals and managed to score 59 runs in 7 overs.
New Zealand was threatening to win the contest but the umpired, later, called it a day due to bad light. The Test match, eventually, resulted in a draw. Babar Azam and Co. would be introspecting as to why they thought of declaring the innings and hoping to win the Test match as the decision could have backfired as well.
Batsmen create fireworks for a show
The Test match saw some sensational knocks from both teams. In the first innings, Babar Azam hogged the headlines with a sensational knock of 161 runs in 280 balls.
Besides, Sarfaraz Khan made a sensational comeback to Test cricket as he scored half-centuries in both innings. Agha Salman also batted brilliantly in the first innings as he produced his maiden ton in Test cricket.
As a result of those contributions, Pakistan managed to score 438 runs in the first innings. New Zealand batted even batter and notched a gigantic 612, in response to that.
Kane Williamson notched his fifth double-century in Test Cricket, while Tom Latham scored 113 runs in 191 balls. Besides, the likes of Daryl Mitchell (42), Blundell (47), and Ish Sodhi (65) also came up with valuable contributions with the bat.
PAK v NZ Brief scores: Pakistan 438 (Babar 161, Agha 103, Sarfaraz 86, Southee 3-69) and 311 for 8 dec (Imam 96, Shakeel 55*, Sodhi 6-86) drew with New Zealand 612 for 9 dec (Williamson 200*, Latham 113, Conway 92, Abrar 5-205) and 61 for 1 (Latham 35*, Abrar 1-23)
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