KARACHI: A group of school kids, numbering about a hundred — little girls in their flowing headscarves and boys with their shirts tightly tucked in, looked on in wonderment as the broadcast crew took their seats for the pitch side show during the lunch break. Lights, camera, action under the blazing sun amid the winter breeze.

Moments earlier, the kids had roared “Pakistan jeetay ga [Pakistan will win]” as Sarfraz Ahmed, in his hometown, at his home ground, guided Ish Sodhi for four and then cut away the New Zealand leg-spinner for another. Sarfraz’s time at the crease saw an uptick in Pakistan’s scoring rate. The plucky batter keeps the scoreboard moving; his presence inspires positivity. It even saw a spell of quick scoring by century-maker Saud Shakeel.

It’s unfathomable that this man, now 35, was on the sidelines for nearly four years; frozen out of the Test side after captaincy of the side was snatched away from him by the Pakistan Cricket Board. Back in the fray, he’s a man on a mission, attempting to make up for lost time. His shots were flowing as he raised a third half-century in three innings since his return.

His family watching on, cheering him on, from the hospitality box, Sarfraz looked on his way to a first Test ton since 2014. He was on 78 when Daryl Mitchell, introduced by New Zealand captain Tim Southee in an attempt to force a breakthrough, got a lbw decision in his favour. Sarfraz immediately reviewed with replays showing there was a slight edge.

Two balls later, though, Tom Blundell’s swift glove work accounted for Sarfraz. Beaten down the leg side, it was in the fraction of a second that his foot was in the air that the New Zealand wicket-keeper whipped off the bails.

“I didn’t think it was out in the immediate aftermath of it,” Blundell would reflect in a news conference after Pakistan would end the day at 407-9, still 42 runs behind New Zealand’s first-innings total. With Sarfraz at the crease, Pakistan were scoring briskly — 113 runs came in the 27 overs between lunch and tea. In the 32.3 overs following his dismissal, with Saud going on the defensive despite having reached his maiden Test ton, they would score 75 for the loss of four wickets.

With two days left to play, and two innings to be completed for a result in the second and final Test, a draw looms until something remarkable happens. Pakistan’s interim chief selector Shahid Afridi, though is still expecting something to give.

“Congrats Saud on a well-deserved maiden Test 100,” he tweeted. “You batted sensibly & elegantly. Well played Imam [ul-Haq] & Sarfaraz, both deserved 100s. I am confident our bowlers will exploit the conditions and give our batters a chance to chase down the target. Exciting finish on the cards!”

Blundell was more blunt in what New Zealand were expecting. “The wicket is still pretty flat and it’s good for batting,” he would say. “Tomorrow, we want to get the last wicket and then put up a score.”

Blundell added that a score of 150 to 200 wouldn’t be enough but admitted it’s been a toil for them on the field as they have been out on the field for 132 overs. “It’s about keeping the levels of concentration as high as possible,” he said. “We’re still hungry for a result.”

For the school kids, who’d gathered, as well as a number of fans who were there — the crowd still in the hundreds, but the biggest of the series — it became a sleepy affair following the tea break. Saud kept leaving balls outside his off-stump, later saying he was “trying to buy time on the crease”.

But the 27-year-old was grateful for Sarfraz’s presence at the crease at the time when he was in the nineties.

“I had nerves but he guided me through.”

Unfortunately for those watching on, the intent of his captain at club, region and franchise levels failed to stick with Saud once Sarfraz departed.

Published in Dawn, January 5th, 2023