New Zealand captain Kane Williamson said that he was proud of the work his team had put in to recover from the early loss of wickets in the first Test against Pakistan.
Williamson led the way with a masterful 129 on the second day as New Zealand put up a total 431 despite being 13/2 in the first 11 overs.
"It was really tough. Obviously, the ball was moving around quite a bit and they asked good questions in good areas. It was also quite difficult to score and to get a rhythm scoring - a lot of the partnerships we built were more around time than a flow of runs," said Williamson after the match.
"That was just the nature of the conditions and it's what you expect when you get put into bat - you expect the wicket to offer a bit for the bowlers, and it did. It was nice that we had a few things go our way and our guys applied themselves really well against a Pakistan attack that bowled really beautifully and were disciplined and were perhaps a bit unlucky."
New Zealand then managed to see off Day 2 with the wicket of Pakistan opener Shan Masood, thus leaving the visitors 30/1. "We know we're going to have to put in a big effort with the ball in hand and be really patient to get those rewards. There were some good signs tonight and hopefully the cracks are starting to open," said Williamson.
