The real test of the strengths and the weaknesses of any team is mostly gauged in situations when pressure mounts and things fail to work out as planned and the sailing gets not only cumbersome but also tougher than one anticipates.

Fortunately for Pakistan it has thus far been not a rough ride. Even against Australia they kept the pressure going with their gutsy performance which won them the series hands down. The case was not any different when they held the Kiwis at bay and won the first Test of this series.

Here in the second Test though the balance seems to have shifted much in favour of the visitors who so far have had a gritty presence in a bid to try and save the series.

Firstly, they posted a very respectable first-innings score and then bowled within their limits to contain Pakistan and thus put a halt to their run spree. Even Younis Khan and Azhar Ali, the men in phenomenal form with the bat, had a kind of muted presence much of the day on Wednesday despite their 113-run third wicket partnership as they batted sedately to take Pakistan nearer to saving the follow on.

The more they withdrew into their shell the more the New Zealand bowlers became pronounced to bog them down even further, resulting in dismissals of both while playing casually.

When pressure like that builds up, the only way to get out of that mode is to change gear and go on attack and break the rhythm and come back into a lot more confident frame of mind.

Asad Shafiq, who has had only few opportunities in this series to take his turn because of Ahmed Shehzad, Younis, Misbah-ul-Haq and Azhar’s run riot in the preceding Tests, however displayed a much more positive approach as he freely stroked the ball to hit a couple of handsome drives and at times daringly moving down the wicket to charge at the New Zealand bowlers.

These were good tactics by him to force the pace and cut out the deficit as much as possible. At the fag end of the day, however, he sadly lost his wicket as his impetuosity did not pay out in the end.

Having got rid of Asad, Brendon McCullum’s men seem to have a firm grip on the game as Pakistan fight on to improve their position in the match. Today’s play will obviously decide the route which this Test match will take and whether New Zealand will be able to level the series before going to Sharjah.

For Pakistan, the tail-enders now have one positive factor in their favour though, which of course is the presence of Sarfraz Ahmed in the middle and if he gets going, he may provide some anxious moments for the opposition.

“Having won the toss, New Zealand are in the driving seat. For us this is a huge challenge but hopefully we will get out of this,” said Grant Flower, the Pakistan batting coach, at the end of play on the third day.

Published in Dawn, November 20th , 2014