PREDICTABLE as it was the second Test ended in an emphatic victory by an innings and 16 runs for Pakistan to allow them level the three-match series before it is over.

This surely must have given Sarfraz Ahmed and his men a sigh of relief after that close defeat in the first Test at Abu Dhabi which indeed was possible through their self-belief and their ability to bounce back to set the series up for a grand finale back in Abu Dhabi next week.

That shows up the resilience and resolve to fight tooth and nail to bounce back from adversity into a position of being in the reckoning once again.

This no doubt was possible through first leaving a challenging total for the opposition to get to when facing an attack which in all conditions offers the possibility of leaving a dent into best of batting offered by the opposition.

In the first Test which Pakistan having dominated the proceedings all through faltered for a while and lost the plot but here from the start of the first day they seldom lost the their grip on the game.

First showing a lot more seriousness in their approach to muster an imposing total and then coming out harder to nail the New Zealanders batting to their lowest in matters of run to gain the upper hand and then work from there to strike the final blow which they did through superb control of their spinner Yasir Shah who ended the Test with a tally of 14 wickets in the match to level the best by Imran Khan against Sri Lanka in a home series in 1982.

Once the Kiwis were bowled out cheaply in the first innings the outcome of this match was glaringly ominous after a follow on.

The question of course was whether New Zealand would show as much defiance as did the Australians with Usman Khawaja’s match-saving century here last month.

The 80-run third wicket partnership between Ross Taylor and Henry Nicholls yesterday morning reminded us all of what cricket can produce, sometimes even incredible turnarounds beyond one’s beliefs.

Once that stand was over both Yasir and Hasan Ali rarely did let the batsmen take any liberty as they struck.

Yasir from where he left in the first innings and Hasan in a supporting cast as much threatening.

Here I must admire the way Sarfraz led his charges, making timely bowling changes and encouraging his team to continue to keep the pressure in check.

His keeping was as much a source of lifting the team whether catching or stumping. Six victims behind the wicket in the match was as much a contributing factor in Pakistan’s magic moments in a Test which now leaves them in the running for the series.

The decisive final Test will now be in focus for the sheer fact that Pakistan if they win the series would be well on road to another series overseas in South Africa at the end of next month to prove their dominance through the year which has been a successful one so far without any doubt.

Published in Dawn, November 28th, 2018