KARACHI: In an incredibly tense finale, in the dying light, tailenders Naseem Shah and Abrar Ahmed staged Pakistan’s last act of defiance. New Zealand were looking to grab the final wicket to win this second and final Test and the clinch the series. They pleaded with the umpires to let play go on for as long as possible and bowled 21 deliveries to Pakistan’s last pair in desperate hope of getting that wicket.

Every block by the duo was being cheered on after Sarfraz Ahmed’s dismissal for a magnificent 118 had brought them together at the crease. Amid nerve-shredding drama, Naseem even got a six and a four while Abrar fetched a boundary as Pakistan finished at 304-9 in their fourth innings to grab a draw after New Zealand had set the hosts a target of 319.

The credit for Pakistan pulling off a draw, though, was largely due to Sarfraz’s anchoring knock. The in-form wicket-keeper-batter, with half-centuries in each of his three previous innings in the series, had arrived at the crease with Pakistan at 77-4, having just lost their captain and batting mainstay Babar Azam. It was soon 80-5 when Shan Masood was dismissed.

It was then that Sarfraz, who got off the mark with a boundary off New Zealand quick Matt Henry, got stuck in with the obdurate Saud Shakeel and pushed back the advances of the visitors. They stitched a 123-run partnership spanning 175 minutes to put Pakistan on course for a late charge.

While Sarfraz kept the scoreboard ticking by getting singles and boundaries, Saud was more than cautious. It was after tea, with Pakistan still requiring 140 to win, that Sarfraz showed his intent that he was going for the chase. He swept Michael Bracewell (4-75) for a four and bettered it with a six over mid-wicket off the very next delivery.

The left-handed Saud, meanwhile, was blocking the other end, frustrating New Zealand the same way as he’d done in the first innings where he ended with an unbeaten 125. Here, though, New Zealand were able to find a way thanks to Bracewell’s off-break after Saud had played 145 deliveries without giving a chance and scoring 32.

Saud had just smacked Bracewell (4-75) for the fourth boundary but when he attempted a cut only for Daryl Mitchell to hold on to a sharp catch on the second attempt at slip. But with Sarfraz at the crease, Pakistan had hope and the 35-year-old cracked consecutive boundaries off Bracewell to enter the 90s. As he neared the century mark, every run he made was applauded and with the incoming Agha Salman they were still attempting to knock off the remaining runs.

Sarfraz, who was recalled for this series after being out for almost four years, would eventually reach his first Test century in eight years with two off Henry. An emotional celebration followed but the job had to finished. The floodlights were already on when Salman, whose late cut off Henry had seen him open the scoring, hit left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel for successive boundaries.

Lady luck seemed to be smiling on Pakistan too. Sarfraz missed a Henry delivery outside his off stump and it evaded stand-in wicket-keeper Tom Latham to run to the boundary for four byes. Henry, though, would come back from that in the next over and dismantle Salman’s stumps as he looked to hit down the line. It brought the end of a 70-run partnership off 83 deliveries. Salman’s 30 off 40 featured four fours.

It meant Pakistan had to change tactics. “We were going for the target but when Salman was dismissed our tail started and we tried to close out the game,” Sarfraz told reporters at a news conference after he was named man-of-the-match and the series. “We knew New Zealand would take the new ball once one of us was dismissed.”

New Zealand duly did. Their captain and pace spearhead Tim Southee got himself back in the attack and Hasan Ali was dismissed lbw. The key wicket, though, was of Sarfraz. It was Bracewell, who ended Sarfraz’s fine innings, the batter admonishing himself after he gloved a delivery to leg-slip. A wicket away from winning, New Zealand camped all their fielders around Naseem and Abrar with only spinners operating in the fading light. But despite all they tried, they couldn’t get the wicket they so wanted.

“Sarfraz played a great knock and it kind of delayed us from taking the new ball,” admitted Southee after the match. “We had the opportunity late on but it wasn’t to be.”

FADING LIGHT

Bad light had denied New Zealand a chance to chase down 138 the scheduled last 15 overs of the first Test. Here, too, Southee’s men couldn’t win the race against the light.

“We kind of knew that at this time of the year, it was going to be hard,” added Southee. “We were playing to win but I guess Naseem, the way he came out, I think he also wanted to win.”

That the game got as far as it did looked unlikely by the way Pakistan started proceedings on the final day. Pakistan had failed to get off the mark in the 17 balls that were bowled on Thursday evening. In that time, they had lost two wickets. It took them just three to get their first runs on Friday when Imam-ul-Haq, who had seen his fellow Abdullah Shafique and nightwatchman Mir Hamza cleaned up a day earlier, prodded at Matt Henry’s delivery and got a four between first and second slip.

His next boundary was more assured, coming through extra cover off Henry in the same over. Shan also got off the mark with a four in Henry’s next over and then got three more boundaries; the last of them coming off a splendid drive off New Zealand skipper Tim Southee. New Zealand, though, hit back soon after. Imam came down the track to Ish Sodhi (2-59) only to be beaten by the spin as he missed the ball completely and saw his stumps knocked back after scoring 12.

Sodhi was being catcalled by fans as he fielded on the boundary, even more so when Babar showed pure timing and superb wristwork in turning away Henry for four and followed that with another cut for a boundary in the next over. It was the introduction of Bracewell, though, that saw the end of Babar (27) and then, within the space of three runs, the end of Shan (35).

Babar’s demise came as he attempted to clip Bracewell down the leg-side but was caught by stand-in New Zealand keeper Tom Latham and Shan departed when he attempted to take on the spinner only to see his shot loop in the air and into the hands of Kane Williamson who ran from mid-off to claim it. New Zealand sensed blood, only for Sarfraz to stand tall and the tailenders to snuff their hopes off.

“It was a great innings by Sarfraz,” admitted Babar at his series-ending news conference. “He kept us in the hunt right till the end and after he went, credit to Naseem and Abrar who managed to survive despite New Zealand having everyone on them.”

Scoreboard

NEW ZEALAND (1st Innings) 449 (D. Conway 122, T. Latham 71, M. Henry 68 not out; Abrar Ahmed 4-149)

PAKISTAN (1st Innings) 408 (Saud Shakeel 125 not out, Imam-ul-Haq 83, Sarfraz Ahmed 78; Ajaz Patel 3-88, I. Sodhi 3-95)

NEW ZEALAND (2nd Innings) 277-5 decl (M. Bracewell 74 not out, T. Blundell 74, T. Latham 62)

PAKISTAN (2nd Innings, overnight 0-2):

Abdullah Shafique b Southee 0

Imam-ul-Haq b Sodhi 12

Mir Hamza b Sodhi 0

Shan Masood c Williamson b Bracewell 35

Babar Azam c Latham b Bracewell 27

Sarfraz Ahmed c Williamson b Bracewell 118

Saud Shakeel c Mitchell b Bracewell 32

Agha Salman b Henry 30

Hasan Ali lbw b Southee 5

Naseem Shah not out 15

Abrar Ahmed not out 7

EXTRAS (B-16, LB-5, W-2) 23

TOTAL (for nine wickets; 90 overs) 304

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-0 (Abdullah), 2-0 (Hamza), 3-35 (Imam), 4-77 (Babar), 5-80 (Shan), 6-203 (Saud), 7-273 (Salman), 8-282 (Hasan), 9-288 (Sarfraz)

BOWLING: Southee 20-7-43-2, Henry 21-3-69-1, Sodhi 18-2-59-2, Bracewell 20-2-75-4, Patel 7-1-32-0 (2w), Mitchell 4-2-5-0

RESULT: Match Drawn

PLAYER-OF-THE-MATCH: Sarfraz Ahmed

PLAYER-OF-THE-SERIES: Sarfraz Ahmed

SERIES: Two match series drawn 0-0.

Published in Dawn, January 7th, 2023