Hafeez, Afridi star in series-levelling win

A solid maiden ODI century from Mohammad Hafeez, a monstrous assault in the death overs led by Shahid Afridi and a spirited performance in the field were features of a roaring comeback by Pakistan in the ODI series, which they leveled 1-1 with a 43-run win at the AMI Stadium in Christchurch. Hafeez counter-attacked after Pakistan had been dented in their start and dropped anchor in the middle overs to set up a launching pad for Afridi and Umar Akmal to smash 126 runs in the last ten overs. Faced with a stiff chase, New Zealand fought hard but timely breakthroughs meant they were always struggling to measure up to the asking rate, eventually leading to their downfall.

The greenish appearance of the track proved deceptive as the movement off the seam that Ross Taylor had banked on when opting to field proved negligible. At the same time, conditions weren't too easy for the batsmen early on either as the pitch played slow and low and the ball didn't come on. Hafeez, who has often squandered starts since his promotion to the top of the order, lost two partners, Ahmed Shehzad and Kamran Akmal, to deliveries that appeared to stop on the batsmen. But New Zealand's seamers lacked discipline and failed to apply pressure consistently, which allowed Hafeez to wrest the initiative.

The short square boundaries at the AMI Stadium were inevitably favoured as the bowlers didn't help their cause by consistently pitching short. Not long after he had nipped out two wickets, Tim Southee was pulled for consecutive boundaries by Hafeez; Hamish Bennett, struggling to bowl into the wind and dropping significantly in pace, was welcomed with a swipe to fine leg and six over long-on while Jacob Oram, in the very over he dismissed Younis Khan, was dispatched over midwicket.

New Zealand had a few chances to limit the damage. Hafeez was dropped on 49 by Brendon McCullum, diving full length to his right and failing to hold on to a difficult catch; Misbah-ul-Haq, who added 94 with Hafeez, was given a reprieve through a missed stumping by McCullum, and Bennett dropped a relatively simple catch off Afridi that, otherwise, could have checked the one-way traffic towards the end of the innings.

Even as Pakistan tried to rebuild their innings, Hafeez was at ease, displaying an excellent ability to adapt, rotating the strike with Misbah and threading the gaps with adept footwork and timing. He stepped out to smash debutant Luke Woodcock for a straight boundary, lofted Oram over the in-field and, after securing his century and taking the batting Powerplay, scooped and slogged Southee for successive fours before signing off by heaving Kyle Mills for a six.

By the time he fell, Umar had warmed up with a couple of meaty hits and Afridi only had to join in. He targeted Oram, who was struggling with his lengths, in the 46th over, hammering him for two sixes on the leg side and a boundary through cover. The seamers either bowled too full or dragged the ball too short and Afridi, paddling, swatting and slapping, collected sixes over fine leg, cover point and long-on on his way to equalling the fastest half-century - off 19 balls - by a batsman in New Zealand, a record also held by McCullum.

New Zealand began brightly in their reply with Martin Guptill and Jamie How capitalising on the short boundaries to add 44 in quick time. But Pakistan's seamers, unlike the New Zealand bowlers, relied more on variations in pace with Sohail Tanvir, Wahab Riaz and Umar Gul ensuring the pressure of a big chase never diminished. How holed out to deep midwicket, failing to pick the slower ball; Ross Taylor, after a watchful start, stabbed at a good-length delivery to be caught at slip by Younis and Guptill, after four boundary-less overs in the second Powerplay, punched Riaz to point where Shehzad clung on to a low chance.

The hosts were in the hunt when Scott Styris and Kane Williamsom preserved their wickets, picked out the gaps to ensure a steady flow of ones and twos and accumulated 81 runs for the fourth wicket to stage a recovery. But while the seamers had picked up the wickets and restrained the batsmen, the slow bowlers, too, proved difficult to step up against, adding to the pressure on New Zealand. Afridi and Hafeez got through their overs quickly and gave little away. Hafeez eventually broke the stand as Styris failed to clear deep midwicket and when Williamson and McCullum departed within three runs of each other - bowled by Riaz and run out by Umar respectively - the game was all but sealed.

Pakistan's approach to their innings was reminiscent of the strategy they had adopted in the 1999 World Cup, progressing slowly with wickets in hand in the middle overs to set the stage for a violent surge in the last ten. Not a bad thing to prepare for the 2011 edition in much the same way.

Pakistan seal crushing win on dramatic day

What Pakistan inflicted on New Zealand on a dramatic third day in Hamilton was nothing short of an embarassment. On a still-placid track, the hosts were victims of some incisive Pakistan bowling but let themselves down through some equally inept batting, transforming a Test that had been closely-fought on the first two days into a hopelessly one-sided contest in just one session.

Pakistan's build-up to this Test had been hijacked by the spot-fixing hearings in Doha but they managed to infuse plenty of significance to a Test that otherwise appeared as a sideshow. Missing several of their first-choice players, for reasons ranging from allegations of corruption to indiscipline and fitness, Pakistan were propelled to victory on the back of strong performances from their inexperienced players under a fresh captain. Misbah-ul-Haq's team had held South Africa to two draws in the UAE, but this win, for all the distractions off the field and though against a less prominent opposition, would go miles in restoring some pride after a turbulent few months.

For New Zealand, who had challenged India in their Test series there, it marked another low, and a dispiriting start - discounting the Twenty20 series prior to this - to John Wright's tenure as coach.

Pakistan's lower order, including its bowlers, had played a crucial role in stretching the first-innings lead to 92 after the loss of two early wickets in the day. And the confidence with which they went about extending their team's advantage with the bat, showed in the way they attacked on the field in the session after tea.

While New Zealand dropped catches, Pakistan hardly gave anything away. While New Zealand's seamers often overpitched to the tailenders, the Pakistan bowlers backed their superior pace by varying their lengths. And while Daniel Vettori was negotiated safely, his left-arm spinning counterpart Abdur Rehman never seemed far from taking a wicket.

Rehman was the pick of the Pakistan bowlers in the first innings, strangling New Zealand's run-flow with a spate of maidens in the session after lunch on the first day. It was no surprise then that Misbah turned to him as early as the ninth over in New Zealand's second attempt.

Rehman doesn't rely too much on spin but plenty on alterations in place and length. He should have had Brendon McCullum out lbw almost immediately with a quick straighter one, but just an over later he fooled Tim McIntosh, who stepped out to a flighted delivery that was held back, played inside the line and was stumped. The psychological edge he had gained over Martin Guptill in the first innings, tying him down with five straight maidens, reaped rewards in the second, as the batsman top-edged an ill-planned slog-sweep. The icing on the cake was the wicket of Vettori, done in by a bit of turn from the footmarks and trapped plumb.

Rehman had been the beneficiary of three dropped catches during his stand of 72 with Adnan Akmal that took Pakistan in to the lead, but, barring an early lapse from Taufeeq Umar at slip, the visitors were ruthless on the field. Ross Taylor had begun his innings with a couple of confident drives but he was unable to beat a direct-hit from Misbah while attempting a risky single. And when Kane Williamson inside-edged Wahab Riaz onto his pads, the spontaneous appeal for an lbw did not distract Azhar Ali at slip from diving low to claim a catch that was later upheld.

In the interim, Riaz was fortunate to get a caught-behind decision against McCullum - the ball deflected off his thigh - and his extra pace accounted for Jesse Ryder first ball as he failed to bring his bat down in time against an inswinging yorker. Umar Gul wrapped up the innings, when he had debutant Reece Young caught at deep square leg off a short delivery, and then bounced Chris Martin not long after he had completed 100 runs in Test cricket. From 60 for 2, New Zealand collapsed to 110 all out, including losing four wickets for one run and the humiliation was only 19 runs away.

New Zealand had tried hard to even things out on the third morning, but as has been the trend throughout this Test, Pakistan pulled them back to surge ahead. Williamson and Southee's resistance in the first innings ended quickly on the second day, Misbah and Shafiq led the team's recovery after they had been reduced to 107 for 4, and Adnan's counterattack today compensated for the early departure of the overnight duo.

When the seamers strayed on the pads, Adnan flicked them elegantly to the fine-leg boundary; he cut powerfully when they dropped short and drove when they pitched up. His boundary-filled 66-ball stay not only gave Pakistan the lead but eased the burden off those who followed, and their carefree batting yielded more runs. His approach rubbed off on Rehman, who broke a 30-ball runless drought with two sixes off Vettori, while Gul and Tanvir Ahmed did their bit down the order, including smacking Brent Arnel for 15 in an over. The last four wickets added 111, and by the time Martin claimed Ahmed as his 500th first-class victim, the foundation for victory, as it turned out, had been firmly laid.