NZ v PAK 2020-21: Pakistan avoid follow-on but New Zealand still firmly in control of the 1st Test

Mohammad Rizwan, Faheem Ashraf led visitors' fightback after losing six wickets for just 80 runs.

Rizwan and Ashraf added 107 runs for the seventh wicket | GettyPakistan's stand-in captain Mohammad Rizwan and all-rounder Faheem Ashraf led the tourists' fightback and helped them avoid the follow-on but New Zealand still ended Day 3 of the first Test in Mount Manganui with a firm grip on the contest.  

Rizwan and Ashraf batted commendably through their seventh-wicket stand of 107 runs to help the visitors recover from a precarious situation which they had found themselves in at 80/6. Rizwan then got run-out for 71 but Ashraf stayed there and along with the lower-order batsmen, kept the Pakistani resilience going. 

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The left-hander was the last man dismissed after a gusty knock of 91 as visitors were eventually bundled out for 239, which once seemed well beyond their reach. Despite Rizwan and Ashraf's admirable resurrection act, however, the Black Caps took a massive 192-run first-innings lead. 

The Kiwi pacemen had earlier ran through the Pakistan top six. Tim Southee (2/69), Trent Boult (2/71), Kyle Jamieson (3/35) and Neil Wagner (2/50) were all among the wickets as the Black Caps' robust attack once again flexed its muscles on home shores. 

The hosts had posted a huge total of 431 in the first innings, with skipper Kane Williamson (129) making another superb Test hundred and Henry Nicholls (56), BJ Watling (73) scoring crucial half-centuries. 

Brief Scores: 

Pakistan 239/10 in 102.2 overs (Faheem Ashraf 91, Mohammad Rizwan 71; Kyle Jamieson 3/35, Neil Wagner 2/50) trail New Zealand 431/10 in 155 overs (Kane Williamson 129, BJ Watling 73; Shaheen Afridi 4/109, Yasir Shah 3/113) by 192 runs 

 
 

By Kashish Chadha - 28 Dec, 2020

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