PAKISTAN v NEW ZEALAND 1990-91

At Lahore, October 18, 19, 20, 22, 23. Pakistan won by nine wickets. Toss: New Zealand. A cover drive by Shoaib Mohammad took Pakistan to a comfortable victory an hour and a quarter after lunch on the final day. While it was fitting that Shoaib hit the winning runs, having given the Pakistan first innings its foundation with his fourth hundred against New Zealand in consecutive innings, it was Waqar Younis who set up victory when he took seven wickets for 86 in New Zealand's second innings. These figures gave him his first ten-wicket return in Tests, and afterwards Crowe, who had remained unbeaten with 108, said that he had never faced such quality pace and swing bowling in his Test career as he had from Younis.

Batting first on a slightly green pitch was a mistake New Zealand quickly rued. Only Smith, hitting six fours in his 33, played the fast bowlers with confidence, and extras, 38, provided the highest score of the innings. By the close on the second day Pakistan were 92 runs ahead, with six wickets in hand, Shoaib having reached his sixth Test hundred in five hours thirteen minutes, including fourteen fours and a six. An entertaining stand of 71 in 116 minutes for the fifth wicket between Ijaz Ahmed and Salim Yousuf extended the lead on the third day, Ijaz batting in all for 234 minutes and hitting seven fours and two sixes in his 86, and when the declaration came Pakistan were 213 ahead.

New Zealand went into the rest day already three wickets down and needing another 144 runs to avoid a second consecutive innings defeat. A twelfth Test century by Crowe and a polished half-century from Rutherford, who together added 132 for the fifth wicket, prevented that embarrassment, and New Zealand were 40 runs on with four wickets in hand when bad light stopped play. However, those four wickets could manage only 34 more runs next morning and, as at Karachi, Crowe was left stranded, having batted for almost nine and a quarter hours, in which time he hit ten fours.

Man of the Match: Waqar Younis.

Close of play: First day, Pakistan 43-0 ( Ramiz Raja 23*, Shoaib Mohammad 17*); Second day, Pakistan 252-4 ( Ijaz Ahmed 33*, Salim Yousuf 4*); Third day, New Zealand 69-3 ( M. D. Crowe 17*, D. K. Morrison 7*); Fourth day, New Zealand 253-6 ( M. D. Crowe 100*, G. D. Bradburn 5*).