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The first test at Dunedin turned out to be the perfect match. It had runs, 1132 in fact, scored at a breaktaking pace by a debutant and compiled amidst ruins by a veteran, it had wickets - early ones taken by a runaway 17-year old quick and match winning ones taken by a 34-year old former policeman who spent two years in the wilderness, put perhaps most importantly it had a result, in the final session of the last day.
New Zealand came into the final day with two wickets intact in their second innings and a lead of 244. Pakistan wasted little time wrapping up the innings for the addition of just 6 runs, Umar Gul doing the damage, leaving themselves 251 runs to get in almost a full day to win the match.
A fired up New Zealand took the field with aspirations of nothing less than a win in their hearts and removed the Pakistan openers with just 6 runs on the board to set up the match perfectly. Shane Bond added a third early wicket sending the talented Fawad Alam back with 5 to his name to put New Zealand straight back in the driver's seat with the visitors struggling at 24-3.
As in every close game a partnership followed, with Mohammad Yousuf and Umar Akmal putting Pakistan straight back in contention with a 71 run stand before Martin came back to remove the Pakistan skipper. The debutant Akmal, who had made a brilliant ton in the first innings, found a ready partner in former skipper Shoaib Malik, and the pair threatened to take the game away from the Kiwis adding another 66 for the 5th wicket. With Pakistan needing less than a hundred for a win Vettori turned to a struggling Iain O'Brien, wicketless in the match so far.
O'Brien responded by removing Malik for 32, and soon after Bond and he struck a crucial double blow removing the Akmal brothers in consecutive overs. Umar's innings of 75 from 174 deliveries had brought Pakistan close, but at 197/7 the match was New Zealand's to lose.
Umar Gul and Mohammad Asif fell with the score at 203 and 213 respectively, leaving New Zealand just a wicket away from a historic win. There were to be no last wicket heroics from Mohammed Aamer and Saeed Ajmal on this occassion, with skipper Daniel Vettori performing the last rites to give the hosts their first test win this year!
The teams now head over to Wellington for the second test starting on 3rd December.
Mini Scorecard:
New Zealand 1st innings 429 (131.5 overs, 3.25 rpo)
Vettori 99            Asif 4-108
Taylor 94             Aamer 2-87
Pakistan 1st innings 332 all out (96.5 overs, 3.42 rpo)
U Akmal 129        Bond 5-107
K Akmal 82          Martin 3-63
New Zealand 2nd innings 153 all out (67 overs, 2.28 rpo)
Taylor 59            Asif 4-43
McIntosh 31        Gul 3-41
Pakistan 2nd innings 218 all out (76 overs, 2.86rpo)
U Akmal 75         Bond 3-46
Yousuf 41            O'Brien 3-63
File Photograph Copyright: Barry Zee
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