a.akmal was able to settle in really quickly, he got some poor deliveries which he put away, in that sense NZ did not bowl well enough.NZ will be disappointed on the basis they had two new batsman at the crease, both very inexperienced, a number seven and a number eight, and have failed to bowl well enough to dismiss them, and have failed to take the chances they have created. At the point these two first came to the crease NZ were still 19 runs ahead, so to now be 39 runs behind I think will be very disappointing.
Don't think NZ bowled badly with the new ball, better than they did with the first new ball, it's just there is so little on offer in these conditions for the bowlers.
Not sure it is an easy pitch to rattle along at a good run rate. Yes you can play the odd attacking shot and get away with it, but you do generally need to wait for poor deliveries. You cannot for example hit the quicker bowlers on the up and just play through the line easily even though there isn't any movement, because I don't expect the ball is coming on too well. Need to be patient imo. The rotation of the strike is important to keep the board ticking.
i think you can score at a decent rate as long as you are willing to do two things - take singles by frustrating the bowlers and back yourself for a boundary.
the assumption then is NZ will start bowling some dross.
misbah had a flawed plan that ultimately worked against him - he gave NZ confidence - intentionally.
a.akmal has the right idea - go for a few shots now and again.