SHARJAH, Nov 28 (AFP): Opener Brendon McCullum smashed the fastest century by a New Zealand batsman to give his team an upper hand in the third and final Test against Pakistan in Sharjah, here today.
The Kiwi skipper completed his tenth hundred off 78 balls and went on to reach 145-ball 153 when bad light ended play seven overs earlier with New Zealand 249-1, a strong position with just 102 runs away from Pakistan�s first innings total of 351.
Kane Williamson matched his skipper�s aggression and was unbeaten on 76, putting an impressive 198 for the unfinished second wicket stand which gave New Zealand a strong position to level the series which they trail 1-0.
Scorecard
Pakistan 1st innings (overnight 281/3): M Hafeez c Boult b Sodhi 197, S Masood b Craig 12, A Ali c Taylor b Craig 39, Y Khan lbw Vettori 5, M Haq c Watling b Southee 38, A Shafiq c Sodhi b Craig 11, S Ahmed c Watling b Craig 15, Y Shah c Taylor b Craig 25, M Talha c Latham b Craig 0, R Ali c Taylor b Craig 0 Z Babar not out 0, Extras (lb-4, nb-1, w-4) 9; Total (all out in 125.4 overs) 351; Fall of wickets: 1-44, 2-131, 3-160, 4-285, 5-311, 6-313, 7-336, 8-336, 9-346; Bowling: Boult 21-6-54-0, Southee 24-4-54-1, Vettori 19-5-41-1, Anderson 12-4-28-0, Craig 27.4-5-94-7, Sodhi 22-3-76-1.
New Zealand 1st innings: T Latham c Ahmed b Rahat 13, B McCullum batting 153, K Williamson batting 76, Extras (lb-2, nb-3, w-2) 7; Total (For 1 wkt; 45 over) 249; Fall of wicket: 1-51; Bowling: Talha 7-0-62-0, Rahat 8-0-24-1, Babar 10-1-71-0, Shah 10-0-59-0, Hafeez 10-2-31-0.
