Cricket

New Zealand batsmen show stiff resistance against Pakistan spin attack

Tom Latham's second century in 2 Tests led the New Zealand effort on a pitch that favors spin

17 November,2014 07:04 pm

DUBAI: (Web Desk) – Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq lost the toss for the first time in 4 Test matches and his bowlers also faced some serious resistance from the New Zealand side on Day-1 of the second Test of the series at Dubai International Stadium on Monday. New Zealand opener Tom Latham scored a century, his second in the series, to lead the Kiwi struggle and batted all day long without losing his wicket till the Stumps.

Skipper Brandon McCullum opened the innings along with Latham and the pair saw the new ball off without giving Pakistan any serious chance. McCullum, however, lost his wicket when the visitors had scored 77 in total. He was caught by Shan Masood off Ehsan Adil’s ball. He scored 43 runs off 69 balls.

Williamson joined Latham on the pitch to put up another strong fight against Pakistan spin attack. He scored 32 runs off 86 balls before being bowled out by left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar. Taylor joined the resilient opener after Williamson’s fall and scored 23 runs off 71 balls. He was also caught by Shan Masood off Yasir Shah’s bowling. Corey Anderson and Tom Latham are still on the crease having scored 7 and 137 runs respectively.

Ehsan Adil, Zulfiqar Babar and Yasir Shah got 1 wicket each whereas Rahat Ali failed to get any wickets on the first day.