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***Official*** Pakistan in New Zealand 2016/17

Blocky

Banned
Really bad batting from Pakistan after a great bowling performance this morning.

I don't even feel the Kiwis bowled that well today.
 

Blocky

Banned
He looked threatening in the first innings, I thought he bowled the right lines and lengths the entire time - think it's just a matter of time for him playing in conditions like this.

I don't see Latham and Williamson failing twice in a row at home though.
 

anil1405

International Captain
Target of 120-140 can make batsmen do crazy things. Having said that Pakistan have to punch above their weight to double the lead from here and set a target of 120+.
 

vcs

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I'm watching it pretty much as a neutral. I genuinely felt Azhar and Babar looked comfortable out there until the Aorta struck.

I'd given him a bit of stick in this thread, but he proved me wrong. His spell changed the course of the game.

I see Boult is still your go-to man if you want to charge through the gap though. Seems like it was a sensational ball to get Sarfraz.

Boult to Sarfraz Ahmed, OUT, that is some yorker and off stump has been uprooted with leg and middle still standing with the bail on top. The ball slanted across the right-hander from over the wicket before swinging back in, it then seemed to seam away off the pitch very late, beating the outside edge of the bat as Sarfraz brought it across the line, and cannon into off stump. I'll need another look at that. Sensational ball. It was not quite a yorker, it pitched just enough in front of him to seam away
 
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BeeGee

International Captain
Pakistan have been stoic in their approach to batting on this pitch, but I honestly believe it's the wrong way to go. NZ batted for 6 less overs than Pakistan have and yet they scored 70 more runs. If I was Sohail I'd be looking to really go after the bowling in the morning and try to turn NZ from attack to defence. It's such a low scoring game that a quick 50 could completely change the balance of the game.
 

Black_Warrior

Cricketer Of The Year
Pakistan's approach did not work ultimately because they couldn't really find a bowler to score runs off. In England, they would see off Broad, Anderson, score off Finn and Ali and then ultimately start scoring off Broad and Anderson too. Here they just couldn't find that break. Astle just bowled 4 overs. This is why, despite seeing off the new ball on both innings, their strategy failed big time.

Azhar also has to shoulder some of the blame here. This has been the most frustrating thing about his growth as a batsman. He just doesn't want to play the senior batsman. This is what his stunting his growth and ultimately hurting Pakistani batting. He has to figure out ways to score runs and be the leading batsman when batting with Sami, Babar and sometimes even YK, Misbah when they are new at the crease. This is what YK excels in when he gets set, this is perhaps his best quality as a batsman more than his sweep shots and defence and all that. It's his ability to figure out ways to score runs no matter what's happening at the other end, no matter if he is batting with the tail or a top order batsman, and that in turn is why he has been part of so many successful partnerships for Pakistan.

Azhar is still playing like the youngster who has come into the side and is barely 1 year old in test cricket, and happy for the senior batsmen to score the runs while he holds up one end. Well you're the senior batsman now.
 

Black_Warrior

Cricketer Of The Year
Younis Khan has yet another failure outside Asia. He now averages 40.xxx in Aus/SA/NZ/Eng/WI. A real pity he missed those tours to Aus/NZ a few years back or his average would be in ththe 30s. Here's hoping that he doesn't get a dead pitch in the second test to cash in on.
Unusual player to hate on. But keep trying.
 

Moss

International Captain
AWTA (Bee Gee) though I would've thought Pakistan would be able to pull it off with that approach seeing the names in their lineup. They weren't too smart about it though. Thank god for Wagner being his reliable self and Boult getting back to what we expect of him.

Having seen plenty of NZ-Pak encounters over the years I certainly wont rest easy whatever Pakistan set. Taylor and Watling really need to start making some contributions, the batting looks paper thin at the moment.
 

Black_Warrior

Cricketer Of The Year
It's okay to criticise their approach and run rate but at least understand what's going on. It's not like they deliberately decided to not score runs. They just couldn't find scoring opportunities. Once they saw off Boult and Southie, Wagner started taking wickets. Now this is a situation where a BMac 30 ball 70 would have been perfect. But guess what, this team does not have a player like that.
 

Bahnz

Hall of Fame Member
Agreed. We got lucky in the first innings with deG getting a whole bunch. That ain't gonna happen this time around and we'll be chasing leather later this afternoon and tomorrow. A 200 run lead by Pakistan will give them a win. Our batsmen simply don't have the discipline or technique to play test cricket.
Yeah talk nah ****
 

Agent Nationaux

International Coach
Good thing I didn't stay up to watch this **** show.

Agree with BW....their normal approach is to see off good bowling and score against the not so good. But it seems like it didn't work this time because NZ didnt offer anything.
 

anil1405

International Captain
For all the hard work that Azhar put in, he got out to a delivery that he should've left alone instead of going for the drive. Probably didn't have enough room plus it was straightening after it pitched which made the shot look a bit more careless for a guy whose intent was to dig it in and stay at the crease no matter what.
 

Blocky

Banned
Pakistan have made Southee look better than he's bowled, not to mention DeG.

Promising signs that Boult is getting back to his best, Wagner as good as ever, Astle not sucking as much as I expected, but has had a reasonably easy time of it due to match situations he's bowled in.
 

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