Kiwis pull off thriller against Pakistan

New Zealand cricketers celebrate the dismissal of a Pakistani batsman.

Pakistan choked before determined New Zealanders to lose first Test match by four precious runs on the fourth day in Abu Dhabi. Traditionally Pakistanis are good players of spin but at Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium got hunted down mercilessly by Test debutant Ajaz Patel who snared five wickets for 59 runs from some 23.4 overs to help team lead three-match series 1-0.

Pakistan, on overnight score of 37 runs, needed 139 to win but Ajaz applied brakes as early as fifth over of the day by trapping Imam-ul-Haq.

Ish Sodhi followed it with double wickets of Mohammad Hafeez and Haris Sohail. Pakistan lost three top names for just 48 on the board. The spinners had wreaked havoc but Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq calmly restored parity with measured display of batting.

Each boundary hit by the duo reduced the required runs and reassured the dressing room. But Neil Wagner ended the 82-run stand with scalp of Asad (45).

Pakistan wanted just 46 more runs for win and had six wickets in hand. It was an easy chase despite the sharp turners hurled by spinners. However, a calamitous run-out gifted New Zealand an opening. Babar Azam was out in a terrible mix-up with Azhar.

It was time for a captain's knock from Sarfraz Ahmed but that was not meant to be as Ajaz had him caught behind. And in his next over, the spinner bowled Bilal Asif. Wagner then induced outside edge of Yasir Shah. Ajaz then accounted for Hasan Ali as Pakistan fell from 154 for six to 164 for nine.

Pakistan now needed 12 runs to win. It was nervous moments. Last man Mohammad Abbas, to his credit, batted sensibly but Ajaz trapped Azhar (65) to hand New Zealand their narrowest Test win in terms of runs.

Wagner and Sodhi complemented Ajaz's efforts with two wickets apiece. The four-run margin was also the fifth closest in terms of runs in Test history.

Ajaz earned himself the Man of the Match award and said the dramatic victory was an unbelievable feeling.

"This is quite rewarding to put my team across the line in Abu Dhabi, especially on my debut. We had a lot of self belief. We kept our calm. We kept it nice and simple. This is a great team effort. Pakistan got good players of spin but we kept picking wickets. We had to fight hard for this victory," Ajaz said.

He said the win is a result of years of hard work.

"I tried to make use of the wicket. This was result of all round effort from team," the match hero said. Skipper Kane Williamson said the match was great advertisement for Test cricket.

"The wicket was challenging. Both teams had to fight hard. Pakistan had the upper hand after Day One. We were able to get back into the game with so many different contributions. It was tough but is a great Test win. It is quite surreal at the moment and will take few days to sink in. This is one of our best wins," Williamson said.

Meanwhile, Sarfraz said the collapse was very disappointing.

"We should have chased this target but failed. We couldn't handle pressure. Babar Azam's run-out was the turning point. Our batsmen needed to spend time on the wicket as it was turning a lot. They failed in this mission," Sarfraz added.

The skipper, however, is confident that Pakistan can reverse the fortunes in second Test in Dubai and level the series.

ashwani@khaleejtimes.com
 
Scoreboard

New Zealand first innings 153

Pakistan first innings 227

New Zealand 2nd innings 249

Pakistan 2nd innings

Imam-ul-Haq lbw b Patel 27

M. Hafeez c de Grandhomme b Sodhi 10

A. Ali lbw b Patel 65

H. Sohail c & b Sodhi 4

A. Shafiq c Watling b Wagner 45

B. Azam run out 13

S. Ahmed c Watling b Patel 3

B. Asif b Patel 0

Y. Shah c Taylor b Wagner 0

H Ali c sub (Southee) b Patel 0

M. Abbas not out 0

Extras: (b 4) 4

Total: (all out; 58.4 overs) 171

Fall: 1-40 (Imam), 2-44 (Hafeez), 3-48 (Sohail), 4-130 (Shafiq), 5-147 (Azam), 6-154 (Sarfraz), 7-154 (Asif), 8-155 (Yasir), 9-164 (Hasan).

Bowling: Boult 7-0-29-0, de Grandhomme 3-0-15-0, Patel 23.4-4-59-5, Sodhi 12-0-37-2, Wagner 13-4-27-2.

Result: New Zealand won by four runs

Toss: New Zealand

Umpires: Ian Gould (ENG) and Bruce Oxenford (AUS)

Tv umpire: Paul Reiffel (AUS)

Match referee: Javagal Srinath (AUS)