The third day of the first Test match between Pakistan and New Zealand saw Faheem Ashraf justifying his selection and Fawad Alam failing once more. So, here is a look at a few takeaways from the first three days of the boxing Test.
Read: Pakistan’s First Test Against New Zealand: A Look At The Possible Playing XI
Faheem Ashraf Justifies Selection While Fawad Alam Disappoints Yet Again!
Faheem Ashraf for once justified his selection. It is worth saying that he has had a good New Zealand tour so far. Not only did the 26 year old showed form during the T20Is but now he has also produced a good performance in the longest format of the game. The all-rounder came at a difficult time with the scoreboard reading 80 for 6. He then featured in a 107 run partnership with the stand-in skipper i.e. Mohd. Rizwan and scored 91 runs to help Pakistan avoid follow on.
Fawad Alam on the other hand failed to impress once more. The left-handed batsman was only able to score 9 runs from the 42 deliveries that he faced and hence, Fawad is potentially now one bad innings away from seeing his international career come to an end.
Read: Takeaways From Pakistan’s T20 Series In New Zealand
So, Who Else Is Under Pressure?
Former skipper Azhar Ali, leg-spinner Yasir Shah and pacers Mohd. Abbas and Naseem Shah would be under massive pressure to retain their positions for the upcoming home series against South Africa as they have not been able to perform significantly once more. It should be of no surprise if the selection committee decides to drop them and so they need to show improvement from here on wards.
No one still should be under more pressure than Head Coach, Misbah-ul-Haq who is yet to show results ever since taking over the office last year.
Read: Mohd. Amir’s Retirement: Why It Should Matter And Why It Shouldn’t
Can Pakistan Save This Test Match?
New Zealand has a 192 runs lead and so, there is no doubt that they are in the driving seat. Pakistan then needs rain to intervene or at least a couple of their players to show extra-ordinary performance to ensure a draw. Otherwise, there is no way apparent that can help the green shirts draw let alone win this game.