Player of the Match
Player of the Match

Openers Tom Latham and Tom Blundell have made their way out to the middle. Shaheen Afridi with the new ball for Pakistan. Has three slips and gully in place

10.41 am All the experts agree that there could be more joy for spinners as this match progresses. Some cracks opening up, but most of them around the middle of the pitch. It is still not entirely unplayable, but if bowlers are disciplined with their lines, they should get just rewards. We have about five minutes for the first ball to be bowled

Day 4, 10:25 am Welcome to Mount Maunganui for continuation of this really interesting contest between New Zealand and Pakistan. Just reminding you that the first ball will be in about 21 minutes from now. Will Pakistan's retreat into their comfort zone of self-preservation prove to be costly as they go into the final couple of days of this game? The visiting side's batting coach Younis Khan asked his team to pick up tips from watching the opposition captain Kane Williamson's approach at the crease yesterday. Williamson's last two visits to the crease in Test cricket have fetched him 251 and 129. Is there another masterclass in store for us today? One of the great stories of Day 3 was Neil Wagner, who came on to bowl despite having fractured a toe while batting, and still proved to be every bit as effective as one would imagine he could be on this surface. What a player!



7.34 pm Just a reminder, that Day 4 begins at 10:46 am local time. We'll be back with all the action. Goodbye from Ranjith P, Karthik Krishnaswamy, and myself, Debayan Sen.

7.28 pm The New Zealand players are the first to come to Faheem and shake his hand. He leads the teams off at stumps on what has been a really dramatic Day 3. Pakistan seemed to get off to a solid start, but then the pace quartet of New Zealand came in and choked them right at the top of the day. Mohammad Rizwan and Faheem Ashraf put the fight back into the piece, and after the captain fell to a sensational bit of fielding from Mitchell Santner, Faheem made sure that Pakistan wiped out any chance of Pakistan needing to follow on in this contest. With two full days to go, it's still advantage New Zealand, but you would think Pakistan have given themselves a chance now of keeping the hosts in check and making sure they consume some more time before setting a fourth-innings target. Lots of talking points, all of which will be available right here on ESPNcricinfo

Faheem Ashraf c †Watling b Jamieson 91 (193m 134b 15x4 1x6) SR: 67.91

Pakistan 4th innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st0Abid AliShan Masood
2nd0Azhar AliShan Masood
3rd37Azhar AliHaris Sohail
4th38Azhar AliFawad Alam
5th165Fawad AlamMohammad Rizwan
6th2Fawad AlamFaheem Ashraf
7th9Yasir ShahFaheem Ashraf
8th8Mohammad AbbasFaheem Ashraf
9th2Mohammad AbbasShaheen Shah Afridi
10th10Shaheen Shah AfridiNaseem Shah