Sohail grabs four as lower order drags NZ past 250

New Zealand 266 for 8 (Watling 45*, Henry 15*, Sohail 4-99) v PakistanLive scorecard and ball-by-ball details

A four-wicket haul from Sohail Khan led an improved day-two display from Pakistan’s seamers, leaving New Zealand eight down at tea even as their lower order, orbiting around an unbeaten 45 from BJ Watling, dragged their score past 250. When Imran Khan had the aggressive Colin de Grandhomme caught behind first ball after lunch, New Zealand were 170 for 6, but handy contributions from Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee and Matt Henry helped them add 96 for the loss of a further two wickets.

For perhaps the first time in the match, Pakistan seemed to miss the legspin of Yasir Shah, with their all-seam attack looking a little one-dimensional as the green Seddon Park pitch eased out under a largely cloudless sky. This was particularly evident in the pace at which Southee and Henry scored their runs. Southee, backing away from his stumps against Wahab Riaz’s short balls, made a mess of Azhar Ali’s field placements – which at one point included a third man so fine he could ostensibly be called a long stop – before Sohail foxed him with a back-of-the-hand slower ball that spun like a googly.

Henry, trusting his eye and flat-batting three fours in ten balls, added an unbroken 27 with Watling for the ninth wicket as New Zealand went to tea 266 for 8.

It was only a continuation of the counterattack de Grandhomme had …

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