Pakistan make short work of New Zealand to wrap up first Test

Pakistan continued to dominate at their adopted home in the United Arab Emirates by defeating New Zealand by 248 runs in the first Test of the three-match series in Abu Dhabi.

Starting the final day needing two wickets to take a lead in the series, Pakistan – who are forced to host matches in the UAE following security concerns at home – dismissed the visitors for 231 in the second innings on the fifth morning.

The New Zealand leg-spinner Ish Sodhi (63) showed plenty of resilience to score his second Test half-century but was the last man to fall, out leg before to the paceman Imran Khan.

Resuming on 174 for eight, New Zealand lost their penultimate wicket when the leg-spinner Yasir Shah (three for 74) bowled Mark Craig (28) in the second over of the day with a delivery that turned sharply.

Sodhi, the highest scorer in New Zealand’s second innings, added 54 with Trent Boult (19 not out) for the final wicket to delay Pakistan’s celebrations.

Fresh from inflicting a 2-0 defeat on Australia, Pakistan have continued their dominance against New Zealand, all three wins coming without their two main strike bowlers – the banned off-spinner Saeed Ajmal and the injured fast bowler Junaid Khan.

Brendon McCullum was well aware of what was in store in the remaining Tests, with the second match starting in Dubai on Monday. “We were clearly second in this Test match,” the New Zealand captain said. “Spin is a threat but so is reverse swing. The partnerships at the end of our innings give us confidence for the rest of the series. It would be nice if we could win the toss, bat first, and put some scoreboard pressure on Pakistan.”

The victory against New Zealand also made Misbah-ul-Haq the most successful Pakistan captain with 15 Test wins, ahead of Javed Miandad and the former captain turned politician, Imran Khan, on 14.

The winning run has also helped the 40-year-old Misbah, who was criticised for a lack of runs, silence his detractors. “It’s a young team, nobody expected us to perform like this,” Misbah said. “Sometimes you have to be patient. It was an absolute disaster for me, I didn’t get any runs in Sri Lanka and in the one-day series against Australia, but I kept calm through that.”