A Seddon Park pitch favourable for batting did not prevent the bowlers from having the better of the contest for the second straight day in Hamilton.
Pakistan had gained control after bowling out New Zealand for 275 and replying positively through an aggressive start led by Taufeeq Umar, but an improved bowling performance from the hosts after lunch and some faulty batting redressed the balance.The virtual absence of swing and very limited movement on a dry and sunny day lent itself to a waiting game for the New Zealand bowlers, and they played it well after lunch, rectifying the lapses committed in the morning session.
Chris Martin, who gave his team an early breakthrough with the wicket of Mohammad Hafeez to an excellent diving catch by Tim McIntosh at slip, had been guilty of letting it slip with a spate of overpitched deliveries to Taufeeq. He was struck for three boundaries in an over, through midwicket, square leg and mid-on and when he tried altering his line, he was driven through the off side. While his new-ball partner Tim Southee was the most steady, consistently bowling in a channel outside off and giving little away, the third seamer Brent Arnel dropped short to Taufeeq and was duly cut and pulled.
Post lunch, however, those bad balls were cut down drastically. Lengths were rethought and both Martin and Arnel targeted the good-length area, and angled the ball in by bowling round the wicket to the left-hander. Taufeeq, who had dealt in boundaries, became more restrained and didn't help himself when he struggled to middle the ball when opportunities came his way. He lost a solid partner in Azhar Ali not too long after lunch, and that gave New Zealand an opening.
Azhar's solidity had been one of the highlights of Pakistan's performance in their previous Test series against South Africa, and that was on display while he was at the centre. He defended well, left deliveries well and showed ability with the wrists with a couple of delightful flicks and drives but poked fatally at one that straightened from Martin to make it 72 for 2.
Taufeeq fought through his frustration by reaching his first half-century since 2003 by guiding Arnel to the third-man boundary, while at the other end Younis Khan injected some fluency to the innings. Like Taufeeq had done before lunch, Younis went after Martin, opening the face to square-drive him thrice for fours and flicking him to the fine-leg boundary.
But just when it seemed Pakistan were emerging out of a difficult phase, they put themselves back into another one. Taufeeq played a loose flick straight to midwicket, and Younis closed the face too early to spoon a catch back to the bowler. It was Arnel who dismissed the pair, leaving it to the captain Misbah-ul Haq and Asad Shafiq to rebuild the innings.
Pakistan's reply in the morning session had been set up by an early conclusion to New Zealand's innings. Southee and Kane Williamson had been involved in a fighting partnership on the opening day, saving New Zealand the embarrassment of being bowled out for under 200 on a pitch full of runs. But their resistance ended this morning when Pakistan's seamers made up for the lack of purchase from the pitch by ruffling the batsmen up with short deliveries.
Umar Gul took little time get things going; he got rid of Southee in the day's first over, as the batsman tried to fend off a bouncer, and Williamson fell to Tanvir Ahmed shortly after reaching his half-century, when he top-edged an attempt to work a short ball into the leg side. Ahmed, who finished with four wickets, dismissed Arnel to leave No.11 Martin stranded on 97 runs in Test cricket.
