The #AsLi Bromance

Dec 05, 2018

Azhar Ali was comfortable enough to dabble with reverse sweeps early in the day•Getty Images

New Zealand battled hard to keep the runs down, like Trent Boult here springing to his left in his follow through•Getty Images

Their partnership of 201 runs put Pakistan in the lead. It was #AsLi (Asad+Ali) fun •AFP

Their bowling was on point though, Shaheen Afridi and Yasir Shah dismissing the openers in the 14 overs until stumps •Getty Images

Asad Shafiq was just as solid, his footwork when he attacked spin bowling standing out•Getty Images

Azhar Ali cruised to his 15th Test century. Along the way, he became the top-scoring Test batsman in the UAE•Getty Images

However, debutant William Somerville sparked a fightback late in the day, picking up four wickets•AFP

So now the game rests on the shoulders of one of the best batsmen in the modern era. Kane Williamson•Getty Images

Shafiq bucked his habit of throwing his wicket away after getting set, scoring his first hundred in 14 innings•AFP

Pakistan collapsed from 312 for 5 to 348 all out, their lead kept to exactly the same number as they got in the first Test of the series - 74•AFP