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Williamson's brilliance trumps spirited Pakistan in battle of attrition on day 1

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The first day of the Boxing Day Test between hosts New Zealand and Pakistan at Mount Maunganui witnessed a high-quality, intense brand of attritional Test cricket. At the end of the day, the home side has a clear edge, but it required incredible hard work and patience for them to get there.

Pakistan won the toss and put New Zealand in to bat on a surface that was green, though not as green as the pitches served up for Tests against West Indies. The visitors, led for the first time by Mohammad Rizwan, opted for a four-pronged seam attack.

The two opening bowlers - Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Abbas gave their team a perfect start. Shaheen got Tom Latham out on the third ball of the match when a rising delivery, which straightened from an incoming angle to the left-handed Latham, took the edge and was caught at gully. 

Abbas, whose forte has been bowling with utmost accuracy and getting the ball to just do enough, lived up to his reputation and delivered a first spell where he did not waiver from the nagging line that he bowls and got the ball to swing as well. 

Shaheen got the other opener, Tom Blundell, out as well when he tried to drive a delievry that was going away from him. This put New Zealand in trouble at 13/2 and brought their two best batsmen - Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor to the crease. 

The two men showed immense self-restraint and relied heavily on leaves and a tight technique to see off the challenge of Shaheen and Abbas. While Williamson stood like a rock that he has come to be for his team, Taylor's self-abnegation was all the more impressive given his preference for full-flowing strokeplay. 

Abbas hardly bowled a bad ball in his first spell and Shaheen wasn't too far behind him. The two other seamers in the line-up - Faheem Ashraf and Naseem Shah - couldn't match the accuracy that the opening bowlers had but even they were treated with great caution by the duo of Taylor and Williamson. 

The Kiwi captain is renowned for playing the ball late and with soft hands. This came in handy today as he showed tremendous judgement of line and length to never play a shot which was inappropriate for a delivery. Whenever the ball was pitched up, Williamson did put his front foot down and play the drive. But that was a rarity. 

Even Yasir Shah, the sole spinner in the team, bowled well though without any bite, mainly due to the lack of help from the wicket. 

At lunch, the Kiwis were 55/2 in 26 overs. Williamson had looked solid, though he was dropped at the score of 18 in the slips when he got an edge that was dying as it came near the slip fielders. Otherwise, he was flawless. Taylor was more positive and played some of his trademark cut shots and flicks. 

After lunch, the pitch had eased out and there wasn't much help for the bowlers. But Abbas and company still managed to hold onto an accurate line and length. There was a period of play where New Zealand didn't score a run for more than eight overs. 

But both Williamson and Taylor displayed incredible composure in not letting this blockade of runs affect them. Both kept digging in. Taylor reached his half-century in 127 balls, the second slowest of his career. 

Then, the former captain decided to cut loose and launch a fierce attack on Yasir. He slog swept him, first for a six and then for a four. Williamson kept soldiering on and reached his own fifty in 150 balls. The two senior batters took their team to the tea break at 128/2. 

After the break, Shaheen jumped into the action again and got Taylor to edge another one of his deliveries which was angled across the right-hander. The breakthrough came when the team was at 133. Taylor scored 70 off 151 deliveries. 

Henry Nicholls joined the resistance while his captain looked imperious. He was hardly beaten and didn't play a single false shot. Despite all the best efforts of Abbas, the Kiwis avoided further damage. The lack of effective bowling from Naseem and Faheem also gave respite to Williamson and Nicholls. Yasir bowled fine but was completely innocuous on an unsympathetic wicket. 

Pakistan's hopes now rested completely on the new ball. When it was taken, there was some trouble for Williamson. The New Zealand captain had become a little more intent on scoring and played a couple of fantastic pull shots in front of square when the bowlers pitched short. 

On the score of 84, Williamson was dropped again. Another slice of luck was Pakistan not asking for a review of a not out decision against an lbw appeal. The umpire thought the ball hit the bat first and Pakistan too didn't challenge the decision. But replays showed that Williamson was hit full on the pad first and the ball was heading towards the stumps. 

Notwithstanding these near-mishaps, Williamson's innings was a masterclass of how to bat in challenging conditions against a capable line-up. His technique and mental fortitude was of the highest quality. The way he left most deliveries that he didn't need to play showed the discipline he bats with. 

At the end of play, Kiwis were 222/3 and Williamson unbeaten on 94 off 243 balls. Nicholls was not out on 42 off 100. Pakistan didn't do much wrong on the day. It was just the sheer determination and solidity of Williamson, and also Taylor, that gave New Zealand the advantage. 

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