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Peter Fulton walks back to the pavillion after being dismissed -
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New Zealand could not rewrite history and now risk a dark
chapter repeating itself after Pakistan cruised to a
series-levelling victory at the Basin Reserve on Sunday, winning
the second cricket test by 141 runs with more than a day to
spare.
New Zealand's quest for 405 - what would have been the highest
successful fourth innings run chase - fizzled out at 263 during the
middle session on day four.
Pace bowler Mohammad Asif appropriately ended a lopsided contest
before rain set in, claiming the fifth five-wicket bag of his
career - and the man-of-the-match award on the back of a match
analysis of nine for 107.
Pakistan now head to Napier for the third test beginning on Friday,
capable of turning a 0-1 deficit into a series win, as England
managed in the summer of 2007-08.
Any hope of New Zealand held of reproducing their heroics in
Dunedin last weekend were erased inside 37 overs on Friday when
their first innings amounted to a feeble 99 runs.
From that point on, Pakistan could only be denied their first test
victory in 13 matches stretching back to South Africa at Port
Elizabeth in January 2007 by a combination of an inspired Ross
Taylor and appalling weather.
Neither impediment materialised though Taylor again offered the
only innings of substance - a hollow 97, his second dismissal in
the nineties in consecutive tests.
Once Taylor trudged off after edging Mohammad Aamer to first slip
half an hour before lunch, Pakistan encountered only token
resistance.
Brendon McCullum's charmed existence ended five balls after the
resumption on 24, the wicketkeeper unable to benefit when dropped
on 19 - one of six Pakistani fielding blunders.
Counterpart Kamran Akmal made no mistake when an edge flashed his
way and by gloving the catch, Danish Kaneria was anointed
Pakistan's most prolific test wicket taking spin bowler.
His haul of three for 74 enabled him to draw level and then pass
legspinning predecessor Abdul Qadir, who held the previous mark of
236 wickets in 67 tests.
Kaneria has 238 wickets in 55 tests and is now fourth on Pakistan's
all-time test wicket taking list behind fast bowling luminaries
Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Imran Khan.
New Zealand have only one impressive statistic to reflect on and
even Taylor's rich vein of form was tempered by a downside.
Taylor boosted his series aggregate to 280 runs in four innings at
70 with a bold 135-ball knock studded with nine boundaries and five
sixes.
In contrast the other five specialist batsmen have cobbled together
270 between them in 20 innings - suggesting changes are necessary,
if not for Napier, then later in the summer when Bangladesh and
Australia arrive.
Taylor's contribution dwarfs his contemporaries -- Martin Guptill's
75 at 18.75 is the next best though he had been on a downward
spiral since making 60 in the first innings at University
Oval.
Asif, two tests into his comeback from 24 months in the test
wilderness now has 17 wickets in the series at 15.17, just reward
for maintaining an unerring line and length.
Taylor seems the only strokemaker capable of thriving though he
flirted with danger when restarting on 15 and facing a 335-run
shortfall.
New Zealand had 197 overs to reel in the total over two days, the
run-rate required a minuscule 1.70 -- but Taylor was never going to
potter around.
He raced from a patient 15 to fifty in 27 balls thanks to a six
hitting spree that saw Kaneria twice slammed over mid wicket. Gul
was later hooked on to the street at deep backward square.
Taylor also took the long handle to Asif, when he and McCullum
posted 50 for the sixth wicket, the wicketkeeper's input was
seven.
A third century of the year loomed only for celebrations to be
placed on hold a second time -- Taylor was also snapped up at slip
for 94 in Dunedin.
The troubled Fulton was the first departure on Sunday, after adding
a single to his overnight 12; Kaneria then struck Elliott's middle
stump after he made six, Vettori (40) joined McCullum as the high
profile casualty after lunch while England-bound Iain O'Brien at
least enjoyed his last innings at the Basin - he was dropped on
nought and went on to make 31, his highest test score before his
dismissal gave Asif five for 67 and Pakistan cause for overdue
celebration.
Second Test final scoreboard.
