Pakistan vs. New Zealand, 2nd Test: Day 2 Highlights, Scorecard, Report

New Zealand passed 400 for the first time since June, batting themselves into a strong position on the second day of the second Test with Pakistan in Abu Dhabi.

The Black Caps have come up well short with the bat in recent Tests, but they showed excellent application on a pitch that was conducive to spin.

New Zealand were eventually dismissed for 403 late in the evening session, and Pakistan lost openers Shan Masood and Taufeeq Umar before the close of play. 

			Runs	Minutes	Balls
Latham	c Sarfraz Ahmed	b Rahat Ali	137	392	269
B McCullum	c Masood Khan	b Adil	43	105	69
Williamson		b Zulfiqar Babar	32	124	86
Taylor	c Masood Khan	b Yasir Shah	23	102	71
Anderson	c Azhar Ali	b Adil	9	49	42
Neesham	c Misbah-ul-Haq	b Yasir Shah	17	74	54
Watling	c Sub	b Azhar Ali	39	192	120
Craig	lbw	b Zulfiqar Babar	43	131	110
Southee		b Zulfiqar Babar	17	51	34
Sodhi	not out		32	65	63
Boult	c Rahat Ali	b Zulfiqar Babar	2	20	18
Extras		0nb 0w 0b 9lb	9
Bowler		Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets
Rahat Ali		32	8	69	1
Adil		29	9	73	2
Zulfiqar Babar		45	8	137	4
Yasir Shah		41	7	92	2
Azhar Ali		9	1	23	1

The day began well for Pakistan, with Ehsan Adil tempting Corey Anderson into a false shot that he chipped to cover.

Tom Latham batted superbly on the first day, which suggested something special was needed to prise him out. Rahat Ali produced such a ball. A touch of seam movement caught the edge of the bat, and wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed did the rest.

The spin of Yasir Shah troubled James Neesham, and his dismissal left New Zealand in trouble on 278 for 6, but BJ Watling and Mark Craig dug in to take the Black Caps past 300—albeit at something of a crawl. Watling and Anderson took 24 overs to bring up their 50 partnership, but they departed soon after—the former to the part-time spin of Azhar Ali and the latter to Zulfiqar Babar.

The New Zealand tail wagged once again, with Tim Southee (17) and Ish Sodhi (32 not out) showing tremendous application with the bat.

The Dubai International Stadium pitch played to the strengths of the spinners, and it was Babar who took the final two wickets, with last man Trent Boult falling shortly after New Zealand had passed 400.

			Runs	Minutes	Balls
Masood Khan		b Sodhi	13	51	48
Umar	st Watling	b Craig	16	62	42
Azhar Ali	not out		4	13	18
Younus Khan	not out		1	5	6
Extras			0
Bowler		Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets
Boult		5	1	9	0
Southee		3	0	5	0
Craig		6	3	8	1
Sodhi		5	0	12	1

It was a good total on a tough pitch, but it is no guarantee of success as far as New Zealand are concerned.

"

On two occasions New Zealand batting first have lost the Test after making 400+ 433 v Aus Ch'church 2005 409 v Eng Leeds 2004 #PakvNZ

— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) November 18, 2014"

After two days in the field, Pakistan’s openers were faced with a testing 19-over spell.

Taufeeq, back in the side for the first time since July 2012, and Shan saw off the new ball, but spin caused problems.

In the 15th over of the innings, Sodhi got a ball to spit out of the rough, and it crashed into middle stump to send Shan back to pavilion.

Craig tempted Taufeeq down the track, and a bit of spin beat the bat, which left Watling with the simple task of whipping off the bails. The two wickets were exactly what New Zealand needed, and they will head into the third day high on confidence. They will need to take quick wickets if they are to force a result, though.