New Zealand Pakistan Boxing Day Test Played at Mount Maunganu from December 26-30

Brief Scorecard at Stumps of Day Four 
 
New Zealand 1st Innings 431 All Out in 155 Overs (Kane Williamson 129, BJ Watlling 73, Ross Taylor 70, Henry Nichols 56. Shaheen Shah Afridi 4/109, Yasir Shah 3/113) and 2nd Innings 180/5 Declared in 45.3 Overs (Tom Blundell 64, Tom Latham 53, Nasim Shah 3/65) 

Pakistan 1st Innings 239 All Out in 102.2 Overs (Fahim Ashraf 91, Mohammad Rizwan 71, Abid Ali 25, Kayle Jamieson 3/ 35, Neil Wagner 2/ 50, Tim Southee 2/ 69, Trent Boult 2/71) and 2nd Innings 71/3 in 38 Overs (Azhar Ali 34*, Fawad Alam 21*, Southee 2/15) 

Pakistan Trails by 302 runs with 7 second Innings Wickets at Hand

New Zealand appears hot favorites for winning the test against Pakistan declaring the second innings at 180/5 and then reducing the tourists to 71/3 at stumps of day four. 

On a wicket slowing down considerably but developing uneven bounce Kiwis set an improbable target for Pakistan for scoring 374 for win at Mount Maunganu. Southee and Boult exploiting the advantage of the new ball dispatched both the openers Abid Ali and Shan Masood for no score on board within the first 14 balls. Pakistan did well finishing the day with minimum damage scoring 71/3. It will be a tough ask for Pakistan for scoring another 302 for a win or even batting out the entire 5th day for earning a draw.
 
Earlier on the day Pakistani pacers failed to exploit the new ball on the wearing wicket at Kiwi openers Latham (53) and Blundell (64) posting 111 for the 1st wicket partnership set the foundation for a sizable lead. Nasim Shah taking 3/55 stemmed the flow of run a bit. Williamson declared the innings closed at 180/5 setting Pakistan an improbable target of 374 for the win in little over 4 sessions. On a warning wicket developing some cracks Pakistan do not look like achieving. Their task was made more challenging with Southee and Boult removing the openers without a run being scored. Southee later also grabbing the wicket of Haris Sohail achieved 300 wickets milestone. At 71/3 at stumps Pakistan has a great task ahead first surviving the first session of day five with little damage and then deciding whether to hunt for a win or salvage a draw. But given the state of the match New Zealand looks like the potential winner.

BDST: 1245 HRS, DEC 29, 2020
AP