Pakistan and New Zealand engaged in a engrossing final day's play at Karachi on Friday (December 30) as the first Test ended in a high-scoring draw with the hosts batting well enough to save the match despite efforts of the visitors.
Resuming at 77/2 and trailing by 97 runs on day five, Pakistan crumbled to 206/7 and were in danger of their fifth consecutive defeat at home, before Saud Shakeel (55*) and Mohammad Wasim Jnr. (43) batting well to take the team to safety. Ish Sodhi was rewarded for his excellent bowling as he grabbed a six-wicket haul.
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam then made a strange declaration leaving New Zealand a gettable target of 138 in 15 overs, and they responded strongly with 61/1 in 7.3 overs before bad light forced play to be called off and the players shook hands.
After the match, in his press conference, Babar Azam answered some tough questions and then got up to walk away, to which a reporter angrily said, “Ye koi tareeka nahi hain, yaha sawaal ke lie aapko ishaare kar rahe hain. (This isn’t the way, people are trying to ask you questions.”
Babar looked rather annoyingly at the reporter but then walked off without saying anything as the team's media manager turned off his microphone to end the presser.
The second and final Test will start in the new year from January 2 at the same venue.
