Pakistan 161/6 at stumps Day 1 against NZ

Pakistan pulled off a customary self-demolition act on the first day of the second test against New Zealand at the Basin Reserve, standing at 60 for no loss at one point before falling in a heap to 161 for six. Pakistan were saved further embarrassment only after bad light intervened and ended the day after only 58 overs were bowled.After days of deliberation as to what combination they should go in with on a pitch made a little moist by incessant rain and overcast conditions, Pakistan chose to drop Khurram Manzoor, Saeed Ajmal and Fawad Alam to bring in Salman Butt, leg-spinner Danish Kaneria and Misbah-ul-Haq. Butt and Imran Farhat opened the batting and surprisingly looked at ease as the supposed 'early morning juice' and hovering clouds offered little assistance for the seamers. But just as it seemed as if Daniel Vettori's decision of winning the toss and putting Pakistan in was an ill-informed move, the 'home' side began its charity act. First to go was Salman Butt, trying to hook a ball that pitched outside off stump and was too high to be tinkered with anyways. Imran Farhat soon followed, giving Ross Taylor some catching practice in the slips, something Farhat will do well to work on himself. Pakistan were 66-2 in 35.Umar Akmal, who Pakistan rely heavily on now having only played one test and 10 ODIs, was given the responsibility to steer the ship at that dreaded no. 3 position. He responded by playing in unfamiliar fashion and looked too reckless to last for long. Still, he managed 46, the highest so far in the game, before being undone by a beautiful off-cutter by Daryl Tuffey. Anyone following Pakistani cricket closely will notice the over reliance of the team on Mohammad Aamer and Umar Akmal, something that will just take away the instinctive play out of their manuals and put too much pressure on their young shoulders.The captain Mohammad Yousuf, who everyone had expected to bat at no. 3 and set the tone of the innings, then walked in. He was back in the pavilion, sitting next to coach Intikhab Alam just two deliveries later, undone by an arm-ball by Daniel Vettori.Shoaib Malik and Misbah-ul-Haq spent enough time on the wicket to get their blood circulating in the chilly conditions but soon turned suicidal. Malik, slapped a half-volley outside off straight into Vettori's hands at cover to give Tuffey, who played his last test in 2004, his second wicket. Misbah went to a 'slog-something' to a Vettori arm-ball. Tuffey picked up two wickets, Iain O'Brien one and Vettori three. Pre-match talk in the Pakistan camp had been of going into the test with four seamers because the pitch looked it. The fact that Vettori picked up three Pakistani wickets did not mean that they had been wrong and the pitch was a square turner, just that it takes straight balls, with a little pressure applied, to get the Pakistani batsmen out.Kamran Akmal and Mohammad Aamer were at the wicket when the day ended and although the Pakistani fans will be hoping for another miracle from Aamer with the bat, as is now the case every time he walks in, it will be a tough task to hold one end with the Kiwis ripe for battle.