Brendon McCullum backs captain Daniel Vettori and the pace attack to bowl the BLACKCAPS to a memorable win on the fifth and final day of the second cricket test against Pakistan at the Basin Reserve.
New Zealand were dismissed for 293 in their second innings on the stroke of stumps tonight, setting Pakistan 274 for victory from a minimum of 90 overs tomorrow.
The tourists lead the two-match series 1-0 and will be confident of at least securing a draw, but the pitch is accepting some turn and runs will be hard to come by if New Zealand can build pressure throughout the day.
Ironically, 274 was the target in the highest successful fourth innings chase at the Basin Reserve, achieved by Pakistan in the Boxing Day test of 2003. Led by Mohammad Yousuf, with 88 not out, and Inzamam-ul-Haq, with an unbeaten 72, they reached 277 for three that day to win by seven wickets.
McCullum is confident there will be no repeat and said excitement levels were high in the home dressing room, with the belief they had the firepower to secure a first test win since beating Bangladesh in Hamilton last February.
"Everyone in the changing room is incredibly excited about what tomorrow brings. To be able to turn up on the fifth day of a test match not knowing whether you're going to win or lose and having the opportunity to win is pretty exciting," said McCullum, who scored 64 in New Zealand's second innings.
"We've got to bowl them out and I think we saw tonight that the pitch is taking some turn. I know Dan is champing at the bit to get the ball in his hand as well and we've got a couple of other bowlers who have performed extremely well in this series, too, so they're all extremely excited about their opportunity and I know the fielders will be backing them up as well."
Vettori took four wickets in the first innings but the pitch is now more conducive to spin, and Pakistan's two spinners took five wickets between them today.
"I thought (Vettori) did a really good job in the first innings. He is never going to run through a team in the first innings and this is his real opportunity now," McCullum said.
"For him the first innings, it's about controlling the run rate and allowing the seamers to operate from the other end and the fact he picked up four wickets is a testament to how good a bowler he is. I think tomorrow we will hopefully see Daniel Vettori in full cry and us going on to get a test win."
Pakistan coach Waqar Younis said excitement levels were high in his team's camp, and they were looking forward to chasing a 2-0 series winning margin.
NZPA
