Butt,Farhat lead fightback

New Zealand may have ruled the first two days of the final Test match in the series against against Pakistan in Napier,but Salman Butt and Imran Farhat showed the hosts are still far from the finish line with an excellent batting display on Sunday. The openers are unbeaten on 66 and 55 respectively,ensuring Pakistan cut New Zealands first-innings lead in half,ending the day at 128 for no loss. Earlier in the day,New Zealand were bowled out for 471,with Daryl Tuffey making it close to his first Test hundred before being dismissed for 80.

Resuming the day on their overnight score of 346-6,Vettori and Tuffey batted sensibly for over an hour before Umar Akmal took a difficult catch to send the Kiwi skipper back to the dressing room with 134 runs.

Determined display

Pakistan were facing a 248-run deficit when they came out to bat,but Farhat and Butt showed excellent determination and skill as they batted out nearly two-thirds of the day. At tea,Pakistan were 72 for no loss in 24 overs,and both batsmen looked set for a longer haul.

The 32 overs that followed in the final session witnessed the addition of just 56 runs.