Devon Conway becomes 1st player to score opening hundred in consecutive years
New Zealand opener Devon Conway continues to make hay on Pakistan's bowling unit in the ongoing Test series at the National Stadium in Karachi. The southpaw continued his brilliant form as he became the first player to score the first international hundred in consecutive years.
Before his ton in the ongoing second Test against Pakistan in Karachi, Conway had scored 122 off 227 balls in the first Test against Bangladesh in Mount Maunganui in January 2022.
However, it came in a losing cause as Bangladesh upset the Kiwis by eight wickets to notch their maiden Test victory in New Zealand.
Conway scored 92 in the first innings of the opening Test in Karachi and remained unbeaten at 18 in the second essay.
The Kiwis have made one change to their line-up for the second Test, swapping Matt Henry for veteran left-arm seamer Neil Wagner. Pakistan, by contrast, made two changes, with Hasan Ali and Naseem Shah replacing Mohammad Wasim and Nauman Ali.
Tom Latham departs after putting on 134 for the opening wicket with Devon Conway
Meanwhile, Latham and Conway also retained their collective form from the opening Test in Karachi, adding 134 runs for the first wicket to put the tourists on top. They put on a 183-run partnership for the first wicket in the series opener.
Latham perished as the returning Naseem Shah trapped him lbw on the front pad. While the 30-year-old pondered a review, he walked back after consulting his partner. At the time of writing, the Kiwis are at 234/1 after 61.5 overs.
The previous game ended in a tantalizing draw on the final day after Pakistan skipper Babar Azam made a rather questionable declaration. After slipping to 206-7 at one stage, the hosts ran the risk of losing before Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Wasim's 71-run partnership brought them back into the game.
Pakistan eventually declared at 311-8, setting the Kiwis 138 to win in 15 overs. While New Zealand looked on track at 61-1 in 7.3 overs, bad light forced the umpires to declare the game a draw.