‘Sitting through 4 days of rubbish to set up a genuinely enthralling finish then…’ – Star New Zealand player not happy with Karachi Test

The last day of the second and final Test between Pakistan and New Zealand ended with a lot of drama either team could have won the match but bad light spoiled having a natural conclusion. In the last three overs of the day, the hosts needed 13 runs whereas the Blackcaps needed only one wicket. But because of bad light, the match as well as the series ended in a draw.

At the National Stadium in Karachi, Sarfaraz Ahmed excelled with a tough century. After New Zealand’s courageous declaration, Pakistan, who was chasing a total of 319, had begun their innings at 0/2 on the penultimate day. Abdullah Shafique and nightwatchman Mir Hamza had both been out.

Sarfaraz Ahmed – The star for Pakistan in the New Zealand series

Prior to a solid partnership between Sarfaraz Ahmed and Saud Shakeel, the hosts lost three wickets in the opening session. After Sarfaraz hit his fourth test century, Pakistan appeared to be getting closer to victory. But the hosts dropped four wickets in the last session, including Sarfaraz (118), giving the initiative back to New Zealand.

The final Pakistani pair, Naseem Shah and Abrar Ahmed took the game to the Kiwi bowlers, but there was still more drama to come when both teams agreed to settle for a draw.

After the match, the former New Zealand all-rounder Scott Styris took it to Twitter and wrote: “Both teams had a chance of winning and we come off the field with 3 overs to go. Exhibit A of why test cricket is in trouble. 💤💤💤💤💤 Well done both teams for battling all the way.”

Jimmy Neesham, the star all-rounder from Blackcaps, replied to his former teammate’s Tweet and wrote: “You sit through 4 days of rubbish to set up a genuinely enthralling finish then this shit happens. What an absolute dog’s breakfast of a sport.”

The former skipper Sarfaraz was awarded both the Man of the Match and Man of the Series award for his marvelous performance throughout the series where he scored four fifties and a hundred.