New Zealand needed just five balls to wrap up the solitary wicket remaining for Pakistan on day 4 of the second test match between the two sides at National Bank Cricket Arena.
Ish Sodhi trapped Abrar Ahmed LBW for a duck as Pakistan was bowled out for 408 in their first innings leaving New Zealand 41 runs ahead.
Saud Shakeel managed to add just a single run to his overnight score as the batter ended up not out on 125 after scoring his first 100 the previous day. With another magnificent batting display in the match, which followed his impressive showing against England as well, he is likely to become a regular part of Pakistan’s team for the longest format.
Earlier in the innings, Imam ul Haq (83), Agha Salman (41) and Sarfaraz Ahmed (78) played crucial knocks to help the home side reduce New Zealand’s total of 449 in the first innings.
Both Pakistan and New Zealand stand a chance of improving their odds of a win on day 4.
New Zealand have started their second innings and have reached 19/1 (at the time of this writing). Mir Hamza removed first-inning Centurian Devon Conway on the very first ball.