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Summary
New Zealand team was all out on 429 on third day of Dunedin test. Akmal brothers saved green shirts from follow-on after central pillars of Pakistani batting line fell early. Man of crisis Umer Akmal scored 129 on his debut to become 12th Pakistani to score a hundred in debut test as Pakistan managed to score 307 for 8 wickets at stumps on day 3.Shane Bond - with pure pace - rattled the Pakistan middle order during a seven-over spell of 3 for 25. In reply, Umar Akmal launched a counterattack after Pakistan were 85 for 5, impressing with his dazzling strokeplay and clear head, scoring a 160-ball 129 to help his team avoid the follow-on. Umar, who nearly scored a century in boundaries alone, found support in his elder brother. Kamran Akmal was the quieter partner in the 176-run sixth-wicket stand, and missed his century by 18 runs. Nonetheless he stayed for long enough to be the first person to congratulate his younger brother on reaching a special century. Martin was at the right place at the right time with the ball. First when Khurram Manzoor went to cut him, ended up playing away from the body, and chopped it on. And then when Imran Farhat moved across his stumps and played down the wrong line. Bond gave Mohammad Yousuf a tough time before it seemed it would take something more special to dismiss Yousuf and Bond pulled that out too: diving low and forward during his follow through to take a return catch. Two balls later he gave Fawad Alam the perfect lifter high enough to have him jumping, and too fast for the batsman to pull his glove out of the way. Another short ball came in the next over. Shoaib Malik, semi-backing away, guided it onto his stumps: 74 for 2 had become 85 for 5. Kamran got reckless on 82, stepped out to Vettori, and edged a delivery from outside leg to first slip. Umar refused to buckle down still. With about six overs to go in the day, he got a thick outside edge to a wide Bond delivery, which carried to third man. Umar couldn't have chosen a more deserving bowler for his wicket.
