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Kane Williamson recorded his third century in back-to-back matches this summer and shared an unbroken 215-run partnership with Henry Nicholls that brought New Zealand close to a first-inning lead over Pakistan on the second day of the second cricket test.
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson bats during the game on the second day of the second cricket test. Source: Photosport
Williamson followed his innings of 251 in the first Test against the West Indies and 129 in the first Test against Pakistan with an undefeated 112 today while New Zealand reached 286-3 by stumps in response to Pakistan’s 297.
Nicholls finished the day 89 not out, following his 174 in the second test against the West Indies and his 56 in the first test against Pakistan.
Williamson’s century was 24 in testing and it again came at a pivotal moment for New Zealand as they played under pressure from Pakistan’s impressive first-inning total, achieved when they hit first after losing the draw.
New Zealand lost three wickets on either side of lunch: Tom Latham (33) and Tom Blundell (16) after a 52-race opening partnership and Ross Taylor (12) early in the second session when he was in trouble at 71- 3.
Williamson and Nicholls batted slowly and cautiously during the intermediate session to reestablish innings, adding just 79 runs and grafting the first 50 runs of their 105-ball partnership. New Zealand’s run rate dropped to around 2.6 during the session as Pakistani bowlers maintained a precise attack.
But Williamson sped up as tea approached, taking a series of limits near interval and keeping the pace in the evening session as the aged ball made Pakistan’s attack less threatening.
He went from 78 to 94 with four limits from 60 on Naseem Shah bowling; He went to 95 with a single, to 99 with a four pulled from Faheem Ashraf, and then to his century with an additional Faheem cap. Williamson’s half century had taken nearly three hours and 105 deliveries; He passed his century in 239 minutes of 140 balls, adding the second 50 of 35 deliveries in an hour.
Pakistan was helpless as Williamson and New Zealand’s total soared and as they watched their first-inning total nearly dwarfed.
Hagley Oval’s pitch was problematic for hitters on the first day and for most of the first two sessions on Monday. There was enough pace and bounce, enough lateral movement both in the air and off the court to make the hitting a little precarious.
Pakistan topped that on the first day with innings of 93 from Azhar Ali, 61 from Mohammad Rizwan and 48 from Faheem, for a total of close to 300, which was impressive in the conditions. Latham and Blundell gave New Zealand a solid start, but the testing nature of the course was still evident with the loss of fast terrain around lunchtime.
Blundell was caught lbw by Faheem and Latham was an extraordinary sacking: he got into the slip cord where Shan Masood on the second slip missed the ball to Haris Sohail early on, who made a reflex catch.
Masood needed no help with the catch that pulled Taylor out of Mohammad Abbas’s bowling alley.
Nicholls had some luck building his entrances. On 3, he passed a ball from Shaheen Afridi to Rizwan behind the stumps and was walking when the TV referee called the no-ball which gave the New Zealander a lucky respite. At 86, Rizwan knocked him down against Afridi in the second over of the second new ball.
In between, Nicholls passed 2,000 test runs but ended the day limping after sustaining a calf muscle injury.
Players from Pakistan celebrate New Zealand’s Tom Latham wicket. Source: Photosport
Williamson had fewer anxious moments, mainly due to his ability to get the ball off the stump late, his gentle hands that reduced the danger of getting caught in slips or ravines, and his recognition that driving was not cautious on a field that still offered something. late movement from the seam.
