Pakistan vs New Zealand 2018: Yasir Shah's 14-Wicket Haul Help Hosts Level Tests

Yasir Shah’s record-breaking 14-wicket haul in Dubai helped Pakistan level three-match Tests against New Zealand 1-1, as Sarfraz Ahmed-led side won the second Test by an innings and 16 runs.

Pakistan square Test series in Dubai

Earlier, Pakistan skipper, Sarfraz Ahmed had won the toss and asked the Kiwis to bowl first. The hosts scored 418 runs for five dec. in the first innings, courtesy centuries from Haris Sohail and Babar Azam, as the duo had scored 147 and unbeaten 127 runs, respectively. Though Haris completed his second Test hundred, Azam hit his maiden century in red-ball cricket.

Meanwhile, Azhar Ali also played a fine knock of 81 runs after their poor start. Initially, Pakistan lost their early wickets, as they lost their opening pair scoring just 25 runs on the board. New Zealand bowlers found it difficult to rattle the batting line-up where Colin de Grandhomme only managed to pick up two wickets.

Yasir Shah led Pakistan to win the game

Meanwhile, New Zealand batsmen failed to put up a good show in the first essay. They could only manage to score 90 runs, and Pakistan asked them a follow-on. The first three batsmen only scored a double-digit run, and the rest made an only single-digit score. It was a pretty poor show from the batting department as six of their batsmen scored a duck in the first essay.

Yasir Shah was the pick of the bowlers from Pakistan, as he rattled the entire batting line-up bagging eight wickets to his name in the first innings. After getting a follow-on, New Zealand started their second innings on a good note. Although they lost their first wicket in quick times, Tom Latham held his nerves and scored a half-century.

Later, veteran Ross Taylor and Henry Nicholls played some exceptional cricket in the middle. The duo scored 82 and 77 runs, respectively, but the Pakistan bowlers didn’t find it difficult to show them the way towards the pavilion.

Yasir Shah again proved his class and bagged six wickets to his name in the second essay. New Zealand only managed to score 312 runs in the second innings, as the Men in Green won the game to make the series level 1-1.