Ajaz Patel and Ish Sodhi\u2019s quick blows in fading light hurt hosts
\n Islamabad
\nSaud Shakeel registered his maiden Test century but Pakistan\u2019s lower-order collapse left the second Test against New Zealand evenly poised at Karachi\u2019s National Stadium on Wednesday.
\nThe hosts, replying to New Zealand\u2019s first-innings 449, finished day three on 407-9 after losing four quick wickets in the final session.
\nSaud, who forged a 150-run partnership with Sarfaraz Ahmed for the fifth wicket, was unbeaten on 124, which included 17 fours.
\nAbrar Ahmed, who denied Ish Sodhi a hat-trick, was yet to open his account at the other end.
\nSaud went into the match with five half-centuries in his first four tests and the hundred duly arrived in his fifth, on his home ground.
\nEarlier, Pakistan lost Imam-ul-Haq, who made 83 before falling caught behind off New Zealand captain Tim Southee in the only dismissal of the morning session.
\nSouthee reviewed the original not-out decision and replays confirmed the ball had brushed the toe-end of Imam\u2019s bat before nestling in Tom Blundell\u2019s gloves.
\nSarfaraz (78) joined Saud in a union of local boys who scored freely after the lunch break to narrow the deficit.
\nSarfaraz brought up the third successive fifty of his first test series in nearly four years but the hundred he was looking for did not materialise.
\nTwo balls after getting an lbw decision against him overturned, Sarfaraz was stumped off Daryl Mitchell.
\nSaud took a single off Michael Bracewell to bring up his hundred and got a reprieve on 102 when Tom Latham grassed a simple catch at short point off Southee.
\nBracewell took a brilliant catch in the slips to remove Agha Salman for 41, however, and suddenly wickets started tumbling.
\nSodhi bowled Naseem Shah and Mir Hamza with successive deliveries but Abrar blocked the hat-trick delivery.
\nThe opening Test ended in a draw.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ajaz Patel and Ish Sodhi\u2019s quick blows in fading light hurt hosts Islamabad Saud Shakeel registered his maiden Test century but Pakistan\u2019s lower-order collapse left the second Test against New Zealand evenly poised at Karachi\u2019s National Stadium on Wednesday. The hosts, replying to New Zealand\u2019s first-innings 449, finished day three on 407-9 after losing four […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":305597,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-305570","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n