Tom Latham and Tom Blundell are out in the middle. Thanks, Al. Pakistan have given themselves a chance by scoring at the rate they did yesterday. Opportunity to drive home the advantage now. Shaheen Afridi with the new ball. Let's go

10.55 am Tom Latham and Tom Blundell are waiting on the edge of the boundary. The Pakistan players are getting into their huddle. It is all soon going to be very very on! And here's Shashank Kishore to call it all.

Khalid: "I wish the Pakistani management would take a chance and open with Gohar surrounding the openers with close-in fielders. He is an unknown and might mine a wicket or two. Fawad Alam from the other end. Two overs each and then the seamers, don't see the harm." ---- Except that Shaheen Afridi picked up a wicket with his first over in the last Test match, sooooooo....

Danial Waleed: "Kyle Jamieson performance yesterday has made me think a lot of how useful tall fast bowlers are. He was the pick of the bowlers yesterday and I believe he will be a key figure for NZ in this test match" --- Very much so. He's one of those rare beanpoles who has no trouble pitching the ball right up there, without losing any pace, without seeming like he's floating a half-volley up there. That makes both his swing and extra bounce all the more dangerous as three five-fors in six games suggests.

Fawad: "Naseem needs to bring his pace back up to 140 if he wants to be a threat to NZ batsmen. His pace was down to 135 in the 1st Test match"

10.45 am Good news for those of you in the US. You can tune in to New Zealand vs Pakistan on ESPN+. Subscribe to ESPN+ here and tune in to the series.

Richard: "Not a cloud in the sky and the lightest zephyr breeze in Christchurch this morning. The day has runs, runs,runs written all over it once through the first hour!" ---- Which would be a nice change of pace given the Black Caps have had to both bat and bowl when conditions were rather more tough thanks to their captain's bad luck with the toss (until now). Plus, if they need any pointers, they could very well look at how Azhar and Mohammad Rizwan batted on day one. They didn't batten down the hatches just because the ball was doing a whole bunch. They were constantly on the look out for runs and that made a vital difference.

Raheel: "I can bet on Abbas. He will make the life miserable for batsmens"

Kamran: "If the fielders can back the pakistani bowlers, i think it will be a good game to watch!"

robert: "I don't see NZ getting much more than 300, if at all. I think Pakistan's 2nd innings is where this game will be decided."

Mohammed Hanif: "Spare a thought for Pakistan, away from home, a competitive total on a tricky pitch, shown a lot of character here and hopefully the bowlers can make good of these conditions. "

Day two 10.30 am It's bright. It's sunny. It's beautiful cricket weather and we have two teams willing to do whatever it takes to put on a show.

Azhar Ali, for example, turned his mind into a computer that told him which balls were dangerous and which could be whacked for runs. He was magnificent (and he thinks the 297 he helped Pakistan put on the board should be enough)

Mark: "You have got to think that Pakistan have a real chance here but, at 260-6, it should have been closer to 350 than to 297. New Zealand have come back well at them, now the batsmen have to back-up the bowlers." --- Yep! This team backs its top order to know what to do to survive in tough conditions. Tom Latham's ability to leave on length, Kane Williamson's penchant to play the ball late and close to the body, Ross Taylor's skill to counterattack, those should all come in handy if the pitch conditions to bounce awkwardly for Pakistan's bowlers too.

Vee See: "Despite the effort by Pakistan, NZ are simply going to bat for 2 days, post 550 and win by an innings like they always do!"

7.12 pm That is stumps and this is an intriguing total. Pakistan had to fight hard to get here. Azhar Ali led the way with a sublime 93. His shot selection and his judgment outside the off stump were both impeccable. Considering they were put in to bat on a green-looking pitch that definitely has a lot of help for the fast bowlers, 297 is a handy first-innings total.

It looked a long away away when Kyle Jamieson was wreaking havoc, picking up three wickets in three overs in his first spell this morning. His ability to find extra bounce and trouble batsmen with movement both in the air and off the pitch makes him a terrifying prospect in these conditions. He's picked up his third five-for in just six Tests. He averages around eight against left-handers and dismissed three of them today.

It feels like both teams will be happy with their efforts, but one of them will start to grin a little wider when things get back underway tomorrow. So do join us then.