EMPTY stands at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium fail to do justice to the game which in the last three days of this last and final Test has provided such entertaining and exhilarating demonstration of attacking cricket by Black Caps, who at the start of this series were ranked to be the underdogs.

The Kiwis did play like underdogs when Pakistan outplayed them in the first Test at Abu Dhabi. Riding on the back of a clean sweep against Australia, Misbah-ul-Haq’s men had sailed past them without much fuss or fanfare then, a warning no doubt for the New Zealanders that their predicament could be no less different from Michael Clarke’s army.

But not all calculations bring desired results. From the drawn second Test onwards it has been tough going for Pakistan as Brendon McCullum’s spirited chargers have pushed Pakistan back to the walls and have offered little respite to them.

Their progress has been outstanding and by the end of the third day’s play the Kiwis had overtaken Pakistan’s first innings score with a sizeable lead of 286, posting a massive 637 for eight in their first innings.

It was fireworks the entire day as the New Zealand batsmen hit fours and sixes at will, punishing the hapless Pakistan bowlers into submission. Runs flowed from the bat of McCullum, the double century maker, and Kane Williamson who made a flawless 192.

The mere fact that a record number of 19 sixes sailed over the fence and over sixty boundaries in the innings says how exciting and evocative the day’s play had been. Eleven of those sixes were hoisted by McCullum while reaching his double century, his third in a calendar year to join the select group of Sir Don Bradman, Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke.

His second-wicket 297-run partnership with Williamson was also the highest for New Zealand. Even Corey Anderson and Tim Southee also belted the bowlers to notch up a fifty each before parting ways. They are likely to bat on till lunch today to extend their lead before declaring the innings or getting bowled out.

“The moment we lost seven wickets on the second day, we had lost the plot,” Waqar Younis aptly summed up the way Pakistan has played in this match so far. “On a pitch as flat as this one, the Kiwis were fearless as they attacked the bowling. No fault of the bowlers though, the pitch has still a lot to offer to the batsmen. And we will have to fight hard to come out of this situation,” Waqar realistically admitted.

Pakistan unquestionably is in a tight corner and, to get out of this pressure situation, they will have to bat with one goal in focus and that would be to occupy the crease as long as possible.

Published in Dawn, November 30th, 2014