The Savage Mitchell Santner Moment- After bowling 123 overs, containing a run rate as low as 2.19 runs per over, New Zealand finally arrived at the No 1 spot of the Test rankings by drowning Pakistan. It was Kiwi spinner Mitchell Santner who took a one-handed stunner off his own bowling to push Mohammad Rizwan and company down the cliff, after a well-fought Test match.
Brilliant Game With A Brilliant Ending
The catch can be described as a moment, where the entire New Zealand team lift up in cheers and joy. As the day started with Fawad Alam (102 runs off 269) and skipper Mohammad Rizwan (60 off 191) carrying their stubborn resistance from the previous day, it seemed if the pair went through the first tough session, with some help in the tail Pakistan could think of a victory.
The catch looped in the air towards the bowler and Santner stretched his bowling arm to claim the stunning catch. The wait was over and New Zealand won by 101 runs, going atop of the test rankings.
What a match, what a climax ? pic.twitter.com/RKAl0jYEPG
— cricket videos (@middlestump5) December 30, 2020
However, the 103rd overcame with the wicket of Rizwan when Kyle Jamieson found him Leg before wicket. Three overs later Alam– who scored his second century after a decade of scoring the first– fell to Neil Wagner. Then after it only took 17 overs for the Kiwi bowlers to clean up the four batsmen left.
The Savage Moment Of Mitchell Santner From The Game
Santner’s catch came at a moment when five fielders surrounded the batsman’s neck, as the last pair – Naseem Shah and Shaheen Afridi– had battled for eight odd overs. Mitchell Santner who already had picked Mohammad Abbas, bowled a fairly flighted delivery at a full length to which Naseem Shah gave a slight push, mistiming the ball.
That winning moment ?? pic.twitter.com/438rzGxz5E
— cricket videos (@middlestump5) December 30, 2020
What Pakistan Skipper Mohammad Rizwan Said After The Game?
Kane Williamson was the adjudged Man of the Match for his hundred in the first innings as the likes of Faheem Ashraf– who scored 91 runs in the first innings– and skipper Mohammad Rizwan (71 and 60) got a pat on the back.
“Not disappointed, that’s the beauty of Test cricket. We fought very well, we did very well. New Zealand did more hard work than us, so the result was in their favour. We made the right decision at the toss because we wanted to take a few wickets early on. Fielding is very important in cricket, we collapsed in a few catches. But after that, we must give credit to Williamson and his team. We went for that (win) after they declared. But, they took early wickets, that put us on the back foot. We thought of going for the chase again but they again picked a wicket in the second over today. New Zealand did very well, our guys fought well, but I must give credit to Wagner who bowled with an injured toe. We lost this match, but we are still in the series. We need to improve a bit in the batting department, our bowling is superb, our energy is superb.”