One day after an all-time classic came to a close in Melbourne, across the Tasman sea in New Zealand, one of the most dramatic finishes in recent times unfolded.
New Zealand beat Pakistan by 101 runs in a thrilling finish to win the first Test in Mount Maunganui on Wednesday, where the visitors were just 27 balls from escaping with a draw.
The win tentatively put New Zealand top of the World rankings and kept alive their chances of making the World Test Championship final.
After a 165-run fifth-wicket stand by Fawad Alam and Mohammad Rizwan the Test went into the final session with both sides in with a chance to win. Pakistan needed 158 runs, New Zealand required six wickets and 36 overs remained.
Huge respect: New Zealand, Pakistan cricketers hail Wagner for playing first Test with broken toes
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson put his faith in Neil Wagner, bowling on two broken toes, and the youngest of his pace quartet, Kyle Jamieson, to swing the match towards the Black Caps.
Wagner bowled a marathon 11 overs unchanged after tea and Jamieson – on his 26th birthday – bowled nine. They obliged with the wickets of Alam and Rizwan.
When Jamieson had Rizwan lbw for 60 and Wagner removed Alam for 102, New Zealand were into the tail as Pakistan folded from 240/4 to be all out for 271.
But there was more twists in the end.
Tail-enders Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah kept the draw option alive as long as they could, blocking for more than seven overs in fading light before Naseem was caught and bowled by spinner Mitchell Santner for one, ending Pakistan’s resistance.
It was a catch that will be remembered for a long, long time as Santner plucked one out of thin air, using every inch of his height to good effect.
Jamieson struck first, 11 overs after the tea break, with the wicket of Rizwan, lbw for 60, before Wagner removed Alam for 102.
Alam had been discarded by Pakistan in 2009 after three Tests and a best innings of 168, and since his recall this year his highest score was 21 against England in August.
Here’s how Twitter reacted after the tense finish to the Test match:
This is why Test cricket is the 𝗨𝗟𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗘 form of the game 😍
— Cricket on BT Sport (@btsportcricket) December 30, 2020
New Zealand win the Test with just 4.3 overs left in the day...
A superb grab from Mitchell Santner takes the Black Caps to No. One in the world 🙌
Amazing scenes. Amazing Test 🤯 pic.twitter.com/YfspwP2qhQ
Thanks for an EPIC TEST @TheRealPCB 🤝 #NZvPAK #CricketNation pic.twitter.com/9GzMfHYx5i
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) December 30, 2020
Kane Williamson is a genius and brave captain. Perhaps knowing how conditions ease out in NZ in 4th inns, he gave his bowlers more than 4 sessions to bowl out Pakistan. Declared with target only 373 and went for 60 points in the WTC. #NZvPak
— Mazher Arshad (@MazherArshad) December 30, 2020
#TestCricket at its best.
— Shazziya Mehmood (@shaziyaaM) December 30, 2020
Although results are not in our favour but salute to the spirit and courage of Pakistan players 💚🇵🇰
Am proud that I stood for my team at their worse and today they gave their best. Love you #Pakistan #PAKvNZ #NZvPAK
What a finish! Congrats to both teams for putting on such a spectacle. #NZvPAK https://t.co/8qTkMNdXP7
— Melinda Farrell (@melindafarrell) December 30, 2020
A brilliant match - Test cricket at its best #NZvPAK pic.twitter.com/65QGY3UJ0j
— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) December 30, 2020
Man of the Match for his 💯 ✅
— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) December 30, 2020
🇳🇿 skipper Kane Williamson inspires his side a step closer to the 🔝 spot in the ICC Team Rankings for the first time in their history.#NZvPAK #OrangeArmy #KeepRising pic.twitter.com/0MViGjD3Wy
The winning moment 🔥#NZvPAK | #WTC21 pic.twitter.com/7t1Vy8jhjq
— ICC (@ICC) December 30, 2020
Just watch how everyone jumps for the catch #NZvPAK ICC should give award to #NZ for the best group jump of the decade #ICCAwards pic.twitter.com/zEA0vfG2lK
— DeMoNoiD (@Im_MafiaPanda) December 30, 2020
26 - Kyle Jamieson bowled 26 maidens in the #NZvPAK men's Test at Bay Oval; only one @BLACKCAPS pace bowler has made more in a Test on New Zealand soil (Lance Cairns - 29 v India at Eden Park, March 1981). Clinical. pic.twitter.com/GOZiRIOPFr
— OptaJason (@OptaJason) December 30, 2020
A stat about Mohammad Rizwan: He stayed on wicket for 285 minutes, which is the longest stay in terms of minutes by a Pakistani wicket-keeper batsman in the 4th innings of a Test match.
— Faizan Lakhani (@faizanlakhani) December 30, 2020
Previous was Moin Khan - 283m v Sri Lanka, Sialkot, 1995. #NZvPAK
Three outstanding Boxing Day Tests to end 2020.
— Deepu Narayanan (@deeputalks) December 30, 2020
A run-fest in Centurion, attritional cricket at its best in Melbourne and one that went all the way down to the final hour in Mount Maunganui. 👌#AUSvIND #SAvSL #NZvPAK
Pakistan today at Mt Maunganui nearly emulated their performance at POS on 19 April 1988, when their number #11 Abdul Qadir (0* in 5 balls) survived the last five balls from captain Viv Richards to draw the Test. Pakistan then finished on 341/9 (target 372).#NZvPAK #PAKvNZ
— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) December 30, 2020
18th consecutive Test without a win by subcontinent teams in New Zealand. None of BD, Ind, Pak, SL has won here in nearly 10 years. #NZvPak
— Mazher Arshad (@MazherArshad) December 30, 2020
boxing day tests 2020
— Gaurav Kalra (@gauravkalra75) December 30, 2020
SENA 2-1 Asia#NZvPAK #AUSvIND #SAvSL
Test cricket you beautiful beast #NZvPAK
— Alex Chapman (@AlexChapmanNZ) December 30, 2020
My favourite frame of test cricket. #NZvPAK pic.twitter.com/ExQjJ7SHcn
— Complan Gael (@__ImPK) December 30, 2020
Fawad’s long wait
Fawad Alam's Test centuries
| Match # | Runs | Opposition | Ground | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 168 | v Sri Lanka | Colombo (PSS) | 13 Jul 2009 |
| 6. | 102 | v New Zealand | Mount Maunganui | 30 Dec 2020 |
Fawad Alam’s is such a great story because it is so sad and cheerful and poignant and hopeful - all at once. A ‘what could have been’ and ‘why did it have to come to this’ and ‘such glorious redemption’ and ‘what a comeback’ and so much more.
— Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee) December 30, 2020
Sport is cruel.
Sport is beautiful.
4,188 days after a century on his Test debut in 2009, Pakistan's #FawadAlam scores his second Test century in his sixth Test at the end of 2020. #NZVPAK
— The Field (@thefield_in) December 30, 2020
What an incredible story! pic.twitter.com/uNrG8cCyxs
Fawad Alam:
— ICC (@ICC) December 30, 2020
1st Test hundred 👉 13 July, 2009
2nd Test hundred 👉 30 December, 2020
Never give up 💪 pic.twitter.com/3Iu9pvDQ2I
A well made 100 for Fawad Alam 👏Plenty of skill & determination in his knock of 353 minutes and 236 balls.
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) December 30, 2020
🇵🇰 239-4, a further 134 needed for victory in the final session. #NZvPAK #CricketNation pic.twitter.com/eY9BaBt8pD
Days between Test centuries:
— Andrew Samson (@AWSStats) December 30, 2020
5093 W Bardsley (Aus) 16/7/1912-26/6/1926 (100s 5 & 6)
4544 S Mushtaq Ali (Ind) 27/7/1936 to 4/1/1949 (1 & 2)
4188 Fawad Alam (Pak) 13/7/2009 to 30/12/2020 (1& 2)
Do you remember where you were in life 12 years ago when Fawad made his last 100?
— Ahmer Naqvi (@karachikhatmal) December 30, 2020
165 - Fawad Alam & Mohammad Rizwan's 165-run partnership in the ongoing #NZvPAK men's Test is the second highest by a fifth-wicket pairing for @TheRealPCB in the format in New Zealand (Feb 1994 - 258 runs by Inzamam-ul-Haq and Saleem Malik in Wellington). Wheel. pic.twitter.com/JAJKk4errP
— OptaJim (@OptaJim) December 30, 2020
The last time a player aged 35+ scored a 4th innings hundred in Test cricket was Younis Khan v Sri Lanka in Jul 2015.#NZvPAK https://t.co/PwZMlCzOG4
— hypocaust (@_hypocaust) December 30, 2020
Fawad and the gap between centuries ⚠️
— Stat Doctor🩺 (@stat_doctor) December 30, 2020
13y 346d - Warren Bardsley
12y 159d - Frank Woolley
10y 351d - Vijay Merchant
10y 159d - Fawad Alam
10y 23d - Charles Macarteney
10y 8d - Hamilton Masakadza
Fawad has the longest gap without cricket being stopped due to wars. #NZvPAK
Fawad Alam Test hundreds:
— Umang Pabari (@UPStatsman) December 30, 2020
1st : 2009 v SL, Colombo (PSS)
2nd : 2020 v NZ, Mount Maunganui*
He scored 30 FC hundreds between these two Test tons.
Great comeback from him! #NZvPAK
Another stirring chapter of the Fawad Alam story is playing out at the Bay Oval. Regardless of how this Test match goes, this has been a truly inspirational knock. So many life lessons. #NZvPAK pic.twitter.com/iiRnV080wu
— Ajesh Ramachandran (@Edged_and_taken) December 30, 2020
Fawad Alam's two consecutive Test hundreds are on the either side of 2010s decade. The first such player in Tests as well as international cricket.#NZvPAK
— Kausthub Gudipati (@kaustats) December 30, 2020
13 Jul 2009: Fawad Alam scores his first Test hundred
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 30, 2020
30 Dec 2020: Fawad Alam scores his second Test hundred
Good things come to those who wait! #NZvPAK pic.twitter.com/n8rJV4d59u
Fawad Alam is a genuine middle-order batsman. They made him open on Test debut in SL and he scored a 100. In next series, they put him at 3 in NZ cos seniors Yousuf & Malik didn't want to move up. Fawad failed and dropped for 10 years. He's playing this Test cos Babar is injured.
— Mazher Arshad (@MazherArshad) December 30, 2020
Epic knock brought to an end by a bowler with a broken foot. What stories this Test has to tell. #NZvPak
— Rick Eyre on cricket (@rickeyrecricket) December 30, 2020
(With inputs from AFP)
