KARACHI: New Zealand bowlers earned vital breakthroughs in the opening session to dislodge the top order as Pakistan slipped to 115/4 before Lunch in the first Test, here at National Bank Cricket Arena on Monday.
Skipper Babar Azam, however, put up a valiant resistance with an unbeaten fifty to neutralize the early scares. Together with Saud Shakeel, he stitched a crucial 62-run stand for the fourth wicket before Kiwi captain Tim Southee took down the former on 22.
With 54 off 82 balls, Babar will resume the fightback to take his team out of the ditch after the interval alongside returning Sarfaraz Ahmed (4 off 3), who is playing his first Test after four years.
Opting to bat first, the home side went through an unwanted start as its first two wickets fell off with stumping dismissals. Wicket-keeper Tom Blundell dislodged the bells when opener Abdullah Shafique walked down the track off Ajaz Patel in the fourth over before Shan Masood met the same fate in the seventh over off Michael Bracewell.
Imam-ul-Haq scored 24 from 38 balls before Bracewell struck with his second wicket with Southee grabbing a catch at mid-off.
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