"Told Southee, If You Keep Same Field...": Naseem Shah Reveals Chat During Tense Chase In 2nd Pakistan vs New Zealand Test

The second and final Test match between Pakistan and New Zealand ended in a draw but not before going down to the wire. Pakistan's last wicket partnership between Naseem Shah and Abrar Ahmed survived 21 balls in fading light while Sarfaraz Ahmed slammed a fighting hundred to deny the Blackcaps a victory in the second Test at National Stadium, Karachi on Friday. The hosts drew a Test match with one wicket remaining for the second time in their history, as the ICC World Test Championship series against New Zealand ended in a draw with no team winning a match.

Talking about the final stages of the game, Naseem Shah made a funny revelation. Pakistan lost their ninth wicket at 287 runs in pursuit of 319 in the final innings. Abrar came in as the final batter and stayed not out till the end along with Naseem.

During their partnership, Naseem hit Michael Bracewell for a six and a four in three balls as New Zealand had positioned all their fielders close to the batter. Pakistan needed another 17 runs to win the game after those two hits and the small margin then forced Southee to reset the field.

Naseem revealed he had said New Zealand skipper Tim Southee that if the field remains the same, he would go for the chase, but the change in field saw him target a draw.

"I told Southee, if you keep the same field, I will go for the chase. But he sent the fielders back after that four and six. Then I decided I wouldn't go for it and a draw would be best."

A crucial stand in the final moments of Day

The last-wicket pair of Naseem Shah and Abrar Ahmed share how they went about their partnership #PAKvNZ | #TayyariKiwiHai pic.twitter.com/2nBStxeEyX

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) January 6, 2023

(With ANI Inputs)

Topics mentioned in this article

Pakistan Cricket Team New Zealand Cricket Team Naseem Shah Tim Southee Cricket