The first Test between Pakistan and New Zealand ended on a thrilling note, where the hosts managed to earn a draw due to the bad light. Expectedly so, the major talking point from the match was the last-minute declaration from Pakistan captain Babar Azam which gave the tourists a hope of winning the contest.
With just 15 overs to go on the final day, Babar decided to declare the innings on 311/8, setting up a target of 138 runs for the Black Caps. The eyebrow-raising decision took everyone by surprise, including Saud Shakeel, who was well set on 55 and had put on an unbroken 81-ball 34-run stand with Mir Hamza. Nonetheless, Shakeel and Hamza had to leave the field, and the game was about to go interesting in the final hour of play.
Chasing 138, New Zealand came out all guns blazing, and there weren’t many smiles on Pakistani faces for a brief period. By the end of the sixth over, Tom Latham and Devon Conway had piled on 55 runs, and the visitors were right on the money to chase the target. With the light deteriorating rapidly, Babar turned to the fast bowlers before the umpires decided it was much too dark, and the final day came to an end.
After the match, New Zealand skipper Tim Southee shared his thoughts on the surprising declaration. Southee termed the decision interesting and said they wanted to chase the target, but the lights ruined the fun.
“Yeah, I think, interesting declaration, probably a little bit of the token sort of declaration towards the end there. Our mindset was to try and chase it down. It’s a shame that the lights played its part. We wanted to chase it down and the way guys did play was very pleasing to go and see,” said Southee in the post-match presser.
“Kane played extremely well alongside Ish to get us into a position where we could declare. There wasn’t a lot of assistance in the surface for a long time throughout this test match, and for us to get into a position after losing the toss to push for a win … I guess we played some great cricket to get to that position,” added Southee.
Here is the video:
"Interesting declaration!"
Tim Southee talks about Babar Azam's decision and New Zealand's attempt to chase the target.#PAKvNZ pic.twitter.com/bwuSMBpUJx
— Grassroots Cricket (@grassrootscric) December 30, 2022
