No one else, in either innings, has passed 48. The unbeaten batsmen Mark Craig and Ish Sodhi, both on 27, showed as much application as anyone in the second innings top order.
Sodhi acknowledged the task in front of them.
"We'll try to make as many amends as we can but we're not really in a position to win.
Prolonging is the goal. We've just got to apply ourselves for longer periods. We are capable, like in Sri Lanka and the West Indies, where we played long innings against high quality spinners."
Kane Williamson said they're trying to learn off Pakistan: "They were so patient early on day one when we thought we bowled reasonably well. They didn't play too many shots but were nice and compact, picking us off as we got tired.
"We haven't come across a wicket like this before. It's been worn down and their spinners are so accurate which has made batting difficult. We need to come up with methods to counter that."
The New Zealand bowlers were not exempt from criticism. Five wickets is the equal fewest New Zealand has taken in a test against Pakistan. On the other two occasions (Wellington, 1994 & Auckland, 1989) Pakistan only batted in one innings.
Pakistan declared their second innings closed at 175 for two, leaving New Zealand to chase 480 to set a world record win or, more realistically, bat for a draw. Captain Misbah-ul-Haq waited for Mohammad Hafeez to score his sixth test hundred before drawing the curtain on their scorecard. It was a subtle suggestion they had the confidence and time to achieve any objective against the visitors.
Chances were again limited for New Zealand in the opening session. Sodhi secured a pair of lbws for figures of two for 66 from 13 overs.
New Zealand's second innings, led by captain and opener Brendon McCullum, saw a counter attack on Pakistan's bowlers as they attempted to survive the four-and-a-half remaining sessions.
McCullum raced to 39 off 49 balls before falling lbw to Yasir Shah, pinned on the back foot. The New Zealand captain peppered the boundary seven times, justifiably punishing bad balls. He even optimistically ditched his helmet for a cap, but the innings proved a breezy cameo when New Zealand needed the equivalent of a 302 epic.
Ross Taylor went lbw to Yasir for eight on the front foot; the leg spinner also took a catch at square leg off Zulfiqar Babar when Latham miscued what shaped as a slog sweep on 20. Jimmy Neesham and B-J Watling completed the top order collapse with ducks.
Both teams spent the morning trying to outfox each other. New Zealand wanted to conserve energy for their inevitable examination as well as preventing a run-haemorrhage to fast-track the start of their second innings.
Pakistan wanted to advance the game with a brisk accumulation to give their bowlers maximum opportunity to prod batting weaknesses.
Today foreshadowed how the rest of the series might unfold. New Zealand's much vaunted bowling attack has minimal traction in these conditions. Trent Boult and Tim Southee, one of the best pace partnerships in international cricket over the last year, had few answers despite their obvious toil. The curators in Dubai and Sharjah will turn their pitch recipe books to the Abu Dhabi page to roll and bake surfaces accordingly.
If New Zealand is to have any chance in the coming tests against Pakistan's batting barnacles, they'll need to a) win the toss; b) thrust spinners Ish Sodhi and Mark Craig into an exponential learning curve where accuracy is paramount; and c) hold any catch presented.
The lack of wickets requires as much reviewing as the dearth of runs. With half of the International Cricket Council's 10-test playing nations coming from spin-friendly environments, it remains an area of the game New Zealand must conquer if they're to advance beyond No.7 in the world.
ANDREW ALDERSON TRAVELLED TO THE UAE COURTESY OF EMIRATES
