NEW Zealand defied Pakistan bowling stubbornly almost all day on the third day of the first Test before finally falling at the fag end of the day, conceding a massive 304-run lead.

That they survived so long had much to do with a fighting maiden Test century by Tom Latham who stuck out for most of the day, playing handsomely all round, sweeping, driving and cutting with relish as he reached the coveted three-figure mark.

It was not enough, though, in the end for the Kiwis despite Corey Anderson and keeper Bradley Watling chipping in with useful scores.

When a team is up against odds such as the Australians were in the earlier series, facing an imposing number of runs piled up by the opposition, the task of competing on equal terms becomes not only difficult but a challenging one all the way. The Kiwis also are in a much similar situation.

The predicament for New Zealand now is neither healthy nor heartening for the fact that from now on, despite not being asked to follow on, they have a rough road to ride.

Gutsy as they were while nearly batting out the day to survive, they may not in the end survive the match as Pakistan having decided to bat once again instead of enforcing the follow on would make sure to grind them down to such a point that it would well nigh impossible for Brendon McCullum’s men to find an escape route.

If only a man of Glenn Turner’s ability, who still remains the only Kiwi batsman to score more than hundred first-class centuries, or Martin Crowe was part of this outfit I would have banked on them any day to get them out of this mess.

But I do not see much light at the end of the tunnel here in this Test for McCullum’s side as it would not be a pleasant experience for them to face Zulfiqar Babar and Yasir Shah in the fourth innings. The pitch is already showing signs of wear and tear to extend sharp spin, bounce and bite which we did not see on the first two days. I only wished though that Yasir should have given the ball more air instead of pushing his deliveries quickly to get the batsmen going after him rather than playing the ball back to him without any problem.

Zulfiqar, however, was impressive bowling from a higher trajectory to beat the bat more often to get those wickets. Rahat Ali was successful but is still unable to make the batsmen play every delivery that he bowls.Pakistan’s task today would be to go for quick runs and then declare giving their bowlers enough time, may be four sessions to get what they are focused on, a victory no doubt.

Published in Dawn, November 12th, 2014