CHRISTCHURCH, Jan 3:
Kyle Jamieson claimed his third five-wicket bag in only his sixth test to help New Zealand counteract an assertive Pakistan batting performance today on the first day of the second test.
Jamieson finished with 5-69 to go with his 5-45 against India last February and his 5-34 against the West Indies last month, checking the momentum of a Pakistan team which batted well in demanding conditions after losing the toss.
Azhar Ali made 93, captain Mohammad Rizwan 61 and Faheem Ashraf 48 as Pakistan made 297, a competitive total on a pitch which was still producing bounce and seam late in the day.
Jamieson claimed the wickets of Rizwan and Faheem along with those of Abid Ali (25), Haris Sohail (1) and Fawad Alam (2) to check Pakistan’s progress at critical stages when they seemed to be gaining the upper hand.
The tall right-armer now has 30 wickets from 11 test innings at an average which is just a tick over 14. On top of that, he boasts a batting average of 49 with one half century.
His bowling performance epitomized the difficult batting conditions that Pakistan contended with, and mostly surmounted, after losing the toss. The pitch at Hagley Oval retained pace and bounce throughout the day and the ball also swung considerably, even late in the day. Jamieson was able to make the ball rear dangerously from just short of length and to swing both ways.
That might have motivated Rizwan to play his especially attacking innings. He hit three consecutive fours from the bowling of Trent Boult just after lunch to announce his intentions and his 61 contained 11 fours or 44 runs from boundaries.
“I think we bowled pretty well as a unit in some helpful but pretty challenging conditions as well,” Jamieson said. “There were some challenges with the run-ups and the footing and the way they played with that positive intent. (PTI)
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