NZ on Top Despite Debutant Umar's Terrific Ton

Dunedin: Shane Bond marked his return to Test cricket with four wickets to give New Zealand the upper hand in the first Test against Pakistan.

Pakistan end proceedings on 307 for 8 trailing by another 122 runs after having played 90 overs in the day. It was an excellent day of Test Cricket as both the sides had their moments but in the end, one has to say that New Zealand have the edge with a trail of over 100 runs and only a couple of wickets to take.

Pakistan did collapse early-on but the Akmal brothers stitched in a brilliant 176-run stand for the 6th wicket. Debutant Umar Akmal (129) went on to score a superb century on debut while his big brother Kamran Akmal (82) supported him quite well.

For the Kiwis, Martin struck twice at the start but then it was all Bond after that. He bagged 4 important wickets, bowling a superb line and with great pace. Towards the end, even Vettori chipped in with a couple of wickets.

Chris Martin made early inroads into the Pakistan batting order by dismissing openers Khurram Manzoor (6) and Imran Farhat (22), before Bond snared Fawad Alam, captain Mohammad Yousuf and Shoaib Malik, as Pakistan slipped to 85-5 in their first innings.

Earlier on day three, New Zealand were bowled out for 429, after adding 25 runs to their overnight score of 404-8. Pacer Mohammad Asif, also on return, took 4-108 while Mohammad Aamer, Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal took two wickets each.

New Zealand, who were boosted by Ross Taylor (94) and captain Daniel Vettori (99), frustrated the Pakistan bowlers as Shane Bond and Iain O'Brien scored freely.

Brief scores
New Zealand: 429 (Vettori 99, Taylor 94, McCullum 78, Asif 4-108)
Pakistan: 307 for 8 (Umar 129, Kamran Akmal 82, Bond 4-93, Martin 2-52)
Status: Pakistan trail by 122 runs

Scores	Upcoming	Results
South Africa vs Pakistan - 3rd ODI 4th Test - Australia v India - December 26-30, 23:30 GMT 1st Test - Zimbabwe v Afghanistan - December 26-30, 07:30 GMT 3rd ODI - Zimbabwe v Afghanistan at Harare Afghanistan won by 8 wickets (with 139 balls remaining) 3rd T20I - West Indies v Bangladesh at St Vincent Bangladesh won by 80 runs

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