An action-packed saga between two strong nations results in a 0-0 draw: Player Ratings from Pakistan’s drawn Test series against New Zealand
Despite the diligent efforts of visitors to march the Blackcaps flag on Pak soil, the hosts once again manage to avoid an upset at home. The thrilling contest between Pakistan and New Zealand in the longest format of cricket comes to end as both of the chapters consummated on resultless outcomes.
Let’s take a look at the player ratings and detailed performances report of Team Pakistan from this home series against New Zealand.
Top Order
Imam-ul-Haq (6/10): Despite not achieving the milestone of 100 runs across all four innings, he still delivered several great performances for Shaheens at the top. The failure of Shafique caused him to not set a sturdy partnership for the opening wicket however, the Multan batter always managed to recoup strongly.
In the second innings of the first test, he delivered a fighting stand of 96 and battled out the Kiwi bowling unit for 71.5 overs before losing his wicket to Ish Sodhi.
Shan Masood (3/10): The 33-year-old left-handed stroke-maker had a fairer contribution in the failure of the Pakistani top-order after being able to score only 68 runs from four innings while batting at number three.
His batting average of 17 was also the second-lowest after 10.75 of Abdullah Shafique among the players who faced at least 110 balls in this series. Masood’s approach in his very first batting appearance was also heavily criticized when he got out on an individual score of 20 from 11 balls at the strike rate of 181.82.
Abdullah Shafique (2/10): It was a forgettable home series for Abdullah Shafique who couldn’t even make it to the Top 10 run-getters of the series despite opening the Pakistani innings on all occasions.
In a series where we witnessed a massive run-fest, the Sialkot-born opener could not even manage to cross the individual milestone of 50 runs. His individual best came in the second test where he scored 19 runs to end this disastrous campaign with 43 runs to his name.
Middle Order
Babar Azam (7/10): Another great home series for the 28-year-old modern-day great with the bat where he scored 226 runs and a solitary century at an average of 56.60 in the two-match red-ball saga. His most notable performance came in the first innings of the opening game at Karachi where he scored a marvellous tally of 161 runs off 280 balls to bring up his career’s ninth century and registered his second 150+ individual score.
Captain Babar completes a hat-trick of winless results on the home turf
Babar also went on to break the 16-year-old record of most runs for Pakistan across all formats which was previously held by Mohammad Yusuf (2435) in 2006 and stood on 2598 when the year 2022 ended. He displayed bravery with his declaration to set the target of 137 in 15 overs for New Zealand in the first test but it was still not enough to save them from the WTC elimination.
Saud Shakeel (8/10): It seems like Saud is gradually cementing his place in the Pakistani Test unit and can soon become their most trusted knight in the middle order.
The former U-19 skipper emerged as the second-highest run-scorer for Pakistan with a tally of 234 runs and also went on to register his maiden top with an unbeaten knock of 125 in the second Test. Shakeel’s performance in the second innings of both games (55 & 32) played a pivotal role in saving the Shaheens from the gates of defeat.
Sarfaraz Ahmed (9/10): This series will be marked as the revival of Sarfaraz Ahmed’s career in international red ball cricket. The former Pakistani white-ball captain did not play a single five-day match in the last 3 years and appeared for the Karachi Test after a long break of 45 months from test cricket.
Sarfaraz who was playing in front of his home crowd scored 335 runs at an astonishing average of 83.75 to emerge as the top-scorer of the series. The Karachi-based wicket-keeping batter played a memorable knock of 118 on the last day of the second test which eventually earned him the honors of player of the match and player of the series for his match-saving contribution to complete his comeback arc.
All-rounders
Agha Salman (7/10): The series turned out to be a great individual outing for the Lahore starlet who is settling his feet as a well-versed all-rounder in red-ball international cricket.
Salman made his debut in July 2022, scoring his maiden century in cricket’s longest format to take Pakistan towards a commendable total of 438 in the first innings of the opening fixture. After going wicketless in the first game, he opened his wicket account in the final Test to end up with four dismissals at the stumps of the fifth day.
Mohammad Wasim Jr (6/10): The young bowling all-rounder made his Test career’s second appearance in the first fixture and managed to leave a mark with his batting skills but could not replicate the same with the ball.
Wasim dismissed Tom Blundell through LBW dismissal in an inning where he bowled a whopping number of 34 overs however could only bowl nine balls in the latter innings. He had a memorable partnership of 71 runs with Saud Shakeel for the eighth before departing from the battlefield with an individual score of 43.
Bowlers
Abrar Ahmed (8/10): The 24-year-old Karachi spinner was the highest wicket-taker for Pakistan in this home series by accumulating 11 dismissals along with a bowling average of 43.64. In just four innings of two games, Abrar has registered one five-wicket haul and one four-wicket haul under his name.
Ahmed kick-started the campaign with a five-wicket haul in the first innings of the Blackcaps where they posted a humongous total of 612 on board before the declaration. He was also the only wicket-taker from the Pakistani camp in the fourth innings of the same game with the dismissal of Michael Bracewell through bowled out in the very first over.
Naseem Shah (7/10): The prodigious pacer was given rest for the opening test after facing major fitness issues in the recently concluded England series owing to his shoulder niggle. The teenage speed sensation announced his comeback with a bang after scalping three crucial wickets in the opening innings of the match.
Tom Latham whom Naseem dismissed on 71 in the first innings, once again became his victim in the following innings as the youngster finished the game with four wickets under his name.
Nauman Ali (6/10): The veteran left-arm spinner was included in the playing XI only for the opening game and left no stone unturned to capitalize on the opportunity. He kicked off the series by breaking a long-standing 183-run opening stand of New Zealand and went on to bag two more wickets in the same innings.
Nauman did not get a single over to bowl in the second innings and was later on dropped from the lineup as team management decided to go for the final game with only two prime spin-bowling options.
Hasan Ali (4/10): It seemed like the Champions Trophy-winning pacer was enjoying his comeback to Test cricket after six months however instead of making it memorable through his performance he did it with his funny gestures on the field.
Hasan was among the Pakistani bowlers who all got one-one wickets in the third innings to eventually concede the final total of 318. He knitted a caught-out dismissal of Henry Nicholls which was consummated by skipper Babar Azam.
Mir Hamza (3/10): After making his debut for the Pakistan Test team in October 2018, Hamza returned to the national side after four years, and that too on his home ground. However, the Karachi-born speedster had a forgettable outcome from his comeback game where he did not get any breakthrough despite bowling 27 overs across both innings.
When he took the field for Pakistan’s second bowling innings in the following game, he blasted it at the stumps in the very first ball to register his career’s second and first wicket of the series.