Pakistan struggle in tour match, but Misbah-ul-Haq holds firm
Pakistan continued to struggle on the second day of their tour match against New Zealand. Although the bowlers did well in today’s play, but the batsmen failed to impress.
The New Zealand eleven won the toss and elected to bat first. The Pakistan bowlers looked clueless, as the opening partnership went past 150 runs. Brendon McCullum and Tim McIntosh put together a 162-run stand. McCullum hammered the bowlers to all parts
of the ground and reached his double ton in no time.
McIntosh was dismissed after he scored his half century. Apart from the openers, there was no other batsman who scored many runs. The third-highest scorer was Bradley Watling who scored 24 runs. The New Zealand eleven ended day one at 342 for the loss of
four wickets. The second day was good for the Pakistani bowlers and particularly for Sohail Tanvir. The left-arm seamer grabbed four wickets in the first innings. The other bowler who was impressive was Wahab Riaz. He took three wickets and provided good support
to Tanvir. The New Zealand eleven was dismissed for 384 runs.
Pakistan didn’t start well, as four of their batsmen were dismissed for just 39 runs. Asad Shafiq and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Misbah-ul-Haq-c1972 then tried to steady the innings with a 50-run partnership. Asad got out after scoring 19 runs when the total was 91. Misbah was then joined
by wicketkeeper batsman Adnan Akmal for yet another fifty run stand. Adnan was dismissed for a quick fire 35 off 31 balls.
Abdur Rehman and Umar Gul also supported their captain and both scored 20 and 24 runs respectively. At close of play, Pakistan was 234 for eight with Misbah unbeaten on 99. He was the only batsman that had answers to the pace and bounce of the wicket, and
will be looking forward to reach his century tomorrow.
Chris Martin and Daniel Vettori were the impressive bowlers for New Zealand. Martin got the early wickets for his team and Vettori chipped in later with his accurate bowling. Both bowlers took three wickets each. Pakistan struggled in the Twenty20's against
the bounce of the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754 wickets. The only batsman who looked comfortable today was their Test captain. His innings will give him and the team confidence going into the first Test match starting on 7 January.
Vettori and McCullum's performances will be a welcome sign for the Kiwis, as both players were under pressure and had injury problems. They will be hoping to carry their good form into the Test and the ODI series against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755.
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