Cricket: NZ locked in duel of wits - lunch report

Azhar Ali of Pakistan is dismissed by Ish Sodhi of New Zealand during day four of the first test between Pakistan and New Zealand. Photo / Getty Images

Pakistan have declared their second innings closed at 175 for two in the middle session during the fourth day of the first test against New Zealand.

That leaves the visitors to chase a target of 480 to win, in theory, or, more realistically, aim to bat out four and a half sessions to draw.

The record winning chase in the fourth innings of a test is the West Indies' 418, against Australia at Antigua in 2003, so Pakistan are safe statistically.

Captain Misbah-ul-Haq waited for Mohammad Hafeez to score his sixth test century before drawing the curtain on their scorecard.

Their innings tempo was soporific to start the day but they accelerated later, adding 112 runs to be 127 for one at lunch.

Both teams were trying to outfox each other. New Zealand wanted to conserve energy for their inevitable examination via spin on a cracking pitch and prevent a run-haemorrhage to fast-track the start of their second innings.

Pakistan wanted to advance the game with a brisk accumulation to give their bowlers the maximum opportunity to prod New Zealand batting weaknesses. What might be perceived as a holding pattern was actually a duel.

The session indicated how the rest of the series might unfold. New Zealand's much vaunted bowling attack has minimal traction in these conditions. Trent Boult and Tim Southee, one of the best pace partnerships in international cricket over the last year, had few answers despite their obvious toil. The curators in Dubai and Sharjah will turn their pitch recipe books to the Abu Dhabi page to roll and bake surfaces accordingly.

If New Zealand is to have any chance in the coming tests, they'll need to a) win the toss; b) thrust spinners Ish Sodhi and Mark Craig into an exponential learning curve where accuracy is paramount; and c) hold any catch presented. These Pakistani batsmen are a living antidote to spin, they've been brought up on it like New Zealanders have on seam, so removing them is difficult. They are batting barnacles.
Chances were limited in the opening session.

Ish Sodhi trapped Azhar Ali lbw for 23 with a slider going straight on rather than turning like his stock ball. A similar ball dismissed Younis Khan later for 26.

Corey Anderson had an unsuccessful lbw review on Younis and a Sodhi lbw was reviewed successfully by the same batsman for an inside edge.

Sodhi finished the innings with two for 66 from 13 overs.

The lack of wickets in this test is a key point for review. With half of the International Cricket Council's 10-test playing nations coming from spin-friendly environments, it remains an area of the game New Zealand must conquer with their ambitions to advance beyond No.7 in the world.

Likewise enduring against spin is the next obstacle if a draw is to be salvaged.
B-J Watling put it succinctly yesterday: "We got close to getting on top of them at times, but we'd lose a crucial wicket and it all went bang-bang. We need to avoid losing wickets in clumps."

Andrew Alderson travelled to the UAE courtesy of Emirates.