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Pakistan's last pair Naseem Shah and Abrar Ahmed survived 21 balls in fading light Friday while Sarfaraz Ahmed hit a fighting century to deprive New Zealand of a victory, bringing the second Test to a sensational draw in Karachi.
KARACHI, Pakistan : Saud Shakeel registered his maiden test century but Pakistan's lower-order collapse left the second test against New Zealand evenly poised at Karachi's National Stadium on Wednesday.
Pakistan's current and former captains combined to rescue their side from a top-order collapse against New Zealand on Monday as the hosts reached stumps at 317-5 on the opening day of the first Test.
Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan has been in fine form for his team, especially in white-ball cricket. Rizwan, who is currently the top-ranked batter in T20Is, also equalled Pakistan captain Babar Azam's record of becoming the fastest batter to score 2,000 runs in the shortest format recently. His consistent performances have meant that former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed is not being considered of late. Pakistan recently announced its squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup, with young wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Haris getting a nod ahead of Sarfaraz in the reserve list.
Babar Azam's career graph is on the rise. He is currently the world No. 1 batter in ODIs and T20I in ICC rankings. In Tests, he is ranked No. 4. "As a player it's a dream to become the No. 1 in all formats and, for that, you have to focus and put in hard work. It's not like if you are the top player in one or two formats, you go easy," the official website of ICC quoted Babar as saying recently. "If you are to become No.1 in all three, you have to keep yourself fit and on track. There is back-to-back cricket and the gap is less. For that, you need to be extra fit. It's something I am preparing for. It's going well in white-ball and hopefully, I will be able to do well in Tests too," he added.
The 36-year-old played the last of his 46 Tests 11 months ago in the West Indies but has not been selected since over lack of fitness, missing a series in Bangladesh and another at home against Australia. Yasir started his career in 2014, becoming the quickest to 200 Test wickets after 33 matches four years later, while anchoring Pakistan's spin attack. He now has 235 wickets in 46 Tests.
Sarfaraz Ahmed's best time in Pakistan cricket team colours came at the 2017 Champions Trophy, when he led his team to a title-winning run. Under Ahmed, Pakistan defeated Indian cricket team in the final to lift the title. Ahmed, now 35, has played 49 Tests, 117 ODIs and 61 T20Is for Pakistan over a period of 14 years. He last featured in an international match in November, 2021 when he played in a T20I against Bangladesh. He has, however, regularly featured in domestic cricket and Pakistan Super League in recent times.
Pakistani selectors have named uncapped spinner Asif Afridi and wicketkeeper Mohammad Haris in the white ball squads for the three ODIs and one-off T20I against Australia. The most notable exclusions include former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed and all-rounder Imad Wasim while the selectors have also called up all-rounders Muhammad Nawaz and Shadab Khan who were both out with fitness issues and also missed matches in the Pakistan Super League.