Pakistan vs. New Zealand: Top Performers from Day 3 of 1st Test

Pakistan (566 for 3) continued their dominance of the first Test against New Zealand (262) on Tuesday, amassing a 319-run lead and choosing not to enforce the follow-on.

The Black Caps' bowling struggled tremendously during the first two days, but it quickly became clear the state of the pitch had little to do with that as Pakistan's spinners found a lot of success on Tuesday. The hero with the ball was fast-medium bowler Rahat Ali, however, taking four wickets.

It wasn't all bad for New Zealand, with youngster Tom Latham putting in a great performance, but the 22-year-old was the only bright spot on a day that was completely dominated by the hosts.

Here are your top performers of Day 3.

All statistics courtesy of ESPN Cricinfo.

Tom Latham

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Any time you make your maiden century, you're going to find yourself on this list. Latham scored 103 runs from 222 deliveries, including 13 fours.

Opening alongside Brendon McCullum, he was the only member of the top order who didn't struggle tremendously—and the sole reason New Zealand managed to make the score somewhat respectable.

Radio host Martin Devlin congratulated the youngster on his excellent achievement, only to eat his words just minutes later, as Latham was dismissed:

As shared by the team's official Twitter feed, he was happy with his maiden century, telling reporters he simply stuck to the game plan:

Latham's performance gave fans of the team something to cheer about on an otherwise miserable day that saw the likes of McCullum and Kane Williamson come up well short of expectations.

Rahat Ali

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Four wickets, 10 maidens, just 22 runs conceded in 17 overs and an economy rate of 1.29. All of Pakistan's bowlers found success on Tuesday, but Rahat's numbers topped those of his colleagues in every category save overs bowled for a reason.

The 26-year-old was simply masterful, taking the wickets of Latham and Williamson just when Pakistan needed it. His constant pressure spooked the Black Caps' top order and clearly affected their output, pivotal in giving the hosts the chance to run out to a massive lead.

As shared by cricket blogger Mazher Arshad, he nearly bowled a century worth of dot balls:

When Corey Anderson stepped up and attacked the spinners aggressively, it was Rahat who was sent out to bring the scoring pace back down, and after two shaky deliveries, he soon settled back down before taking the New Zealander's wicket as well.

Misbah-ul-Haq

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The captain deserves a special mention for his decision to crowd the bat with catchers, often leaving four or even more lingering around the New Zealand batsmen. The spinners in particular took advantage of the Black Caps' tentative batting as a result, steering the first Test even more in Pakistan's favour.