Azhar, who finished the day unbeaten on 62 off 169 balls, helped Pakistan recover from the loss of two early wickets to trail New Zealand by 135 runs with seven wickets remaining.
Arguably the most expressive face in current world cricket, Virat Kohli's expressions and body language say it all.
Left-arm spinner Mitchell Santer may have not picked up a wicket in New Zealand's thumping win over India but his tidy spell helped immensely in putting pressure on the opposition batters, said teammmate Ish Sodhi.
New Zealand named an unchanged squad that beat West Indies 2-0 in December for the two-match Test series against India starting February 6.
The Black Caps were also scheduled to travel to Australia for an ODI series but the fixture was on Friday postponed to next summer (2021-22) due to the pandemic.
Punjab Kings' batting unit hasn't hit the straps, save for Rahul and Mayank Agarwal and the bowling has been pedestrian.
Trent Boult said he expects the green top at the Hagley Oval to be more conducive for his brand of swing bowling compared to the Basin Reserve track
New Zealand pace bowler Kyle Jamieson enjoyed a dream start to his Test career on the opening day of the first match against India as he captured three wickets and also took a catch in the deep as the tourists limped to 122-5 after rain washed out the entire post-tea session. Ajinkya Rahane was on 38 at stumps at the Basin Reserve on Friday, while the recalled Rishabh Pant was 10 not out, with the 2.03m tall Jamieson tormenting batsmen with his ability to get the ball to rear off a length.
IMAGES from the IPL 2022 game between Mumbai Indians and Lucknow Super Giants, in Mumbai, on Saturday.
In other big movements, Punjab Kings have released their last edition's captain Mayank Agarwal, while West Indies skipper Nicholas Pooran was released by Sunrisers Hyderabad.
The squad for the two Tests against India is set to be named on February 17, with the opening match starting four days later in Wellington on February 21.
After a comfortable outing in the tournament-opener against Bangladesh, title favourites England are set to face a much stiffer test against New Zealand in a crucial ICC Champions Trophy Group A fixture in Cardiff, on Tuesday.
New Zealand will be banking on injured pace bowlers Trent Boult (hand), Matt Henry (thumb) and Lockie Ferguson (calf) coming back into contention for the Tests
Images from the opening match of the 14th Indian Premier League, between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore, in Chennai, on Friday.
The hullabaloo over his hamstring was confusing as well as amusing for Rohit Sharma, who says he always knew that the injury was not that serious and he would be battle-ready for the tour of Australia.
The 10 IPL franchises have so far spent above Rs 388 crore collectively
Images from Wednesday's IPL match between Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals, in Chennai.
For a team that looked at ease all along, it was their first defeat in the UAE leg -- and three from 11 matches this season -- as Delhi struggled to get going against KKR bowlers who made full use of the slow surface after opting to bowl.
With a fit again Rohit Sharma back to lead the side, Mumbai Indians are setting their eyes on another IPL title.
New Zealand's fast bowling department has been hit hard by injuries as Matt Henry, Doug Bracewell and Adam Milne have also been sidelined.
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has reclaimed the No.1 position in the MRF Tyres ICC Men's Test Player Rankings after leading his side to the ICC World Test Championship title in Southampton last week.
Supremely positive, aggressive and efficient, the Black Caps amply justified their status as the world's third-ranked Test side in a 1-1 draw with their hosts which fluctuated from the first ball to the last. New Zealand are a team to be reckoned with.
The board has learnt from the harsh lessons of the 2021 edition when the tournament had to be suspended midway due to the raging pandemic and could only be completed in the UAE four months later.
In the bowlers' list, Bumrah is sitting at the top with 774 points.
This IPL, big totals have been chased down with ease.
Alex Marshall, ICC's general manager of its anti-corruption unit, met Interpol officials in Lyon last week to seek closer working relations, it added.
India pacer Ishant Sharma, England's limited-overs skipper Eoin Morgan and former Australia pace spearhead Mitchell Johnson are among seven players who have listed themselves at the highest base price of Rs 2 crore (approx $298,000) for IPL-10 player auction.
Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav and Kieron Pollard are likely to be retained.
Rain washed out an entire day's play for the second time in the ICC World Test Championship final in Southampton on Monday, diminishing hopes of a result in the India vs New Zealand contest.
A determined New Zealand bounced back in fine style on the third day to gain the upperhand in the World Test Championship final.
New Zealand were bowled out for 249 in the first session but Sri Lanka struggled to get going during Patel's spells and finished on 227-7, trailing by 22 runs.
The likes of Virender Sehwag, David Miller and Glenn Maxwell have not managed to live up to expectations for Kings XI Punjab in IPL 8.
After putting a stop to their prolonged losing streak, Delhi Daredevils will look to carry forward the momentum when they take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in their Indian Premier League encounter in Visakhapatnam on Saturday.
Looking to keep their winning run intact, table-toppers Rajasthan Royals face a stern SunRisers Hyderabad test in their fourth match of the Indian Premier League in Visakhapatnam on Thursday.
'I wish I could reverse-lap Jofra Archer, that's about it. Don't think I am brave enough to play the shots Suryakumar plays. To be honest, I wasn't looking to take Anrich Nortje on, it was a matter of just seizing the opportunity when I had it. Fortunately, there were one-two balls I was able to go after.'
IMAGES from the IPL match between Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians in Navi Mumbai on Saturday.
A look at how the teams stack up ahead of the mega auction.
'From our perspective, we have to change the way we play but also sticking to some of the key principles of Test cricket. We will try to be competitive for long, long periods of time.'
The 25-year-old Yadav, who now has 99 ODI wickets, ended the match with the figures of 3-52.
According to Mahela Jayawardene, it was good to go into the break with three consecutive wins.
