New Zealand batsman Martin Guptill has said that a first innings total in excess of 300 would be a very challenging one for Pakistan.
New Zealand have most certainly recovered from a hiccup after Pakistan managed to take some important wickets to pile up the pressure on the home side. Guptill scored a half century and featured in an 83-run second wicket partnership with Brendon McCullum. He however, fell to the brilliant bowling of Abdul Rehman who was phenomenal on the first day of the first Test match at Hamilton.
Abdul Rehman finished the day with three wickets from his 30 overs out of which 13 were maidens. He had an economy rate of 1.7 runs per over.
Kane Williamson and Tim Southee put on a fight back with both the players putting on an unbeaten 83-run, eighth wicket partnership. Southee scored an impressive half-century while Williamson was batting on 44. Martin Guptill agreed that the game was in favour of Pakistan. However, he also said that if his team manages to push through to a score in excess of 300 runs then they would have a chance against the visiting side. He said the pitch was such that it would provide the Kiwi bowlers with ample opportunities to make breakthroughs against the opposition.
"It's a good wicket, it's quite flat and a little bit slow but you've got to work for your runs if you bowl in the right areas. So hopefully Timmy and Kane can go out and get us another 50 runs or so for a competitive score. Around 300 would be a good total with where we are tonight... (and) I think it's going to be hard, but we (then) have to bowl in our areas and be demanding and be at them every ball to do that, and give them absolutely nothing,” Guptill said.
Guptill also said that Abdul Rehman was rather hard to play against and therefore the batsmen were finding it hard to place the ball in the gaps off his bowling. He said that after a marathon 30-over spell by Rehman, he started to bowl a few loose deliveries that were punished by the batsmen which helped take some pressure off the Kiwi side.
