An incredible bowling display from Pakistan's Yasir Shah has sparked a historic Black Caps meltdown on day three of the second test in Dubai.
Shah claimed the best figures ever recorded against New Zealand, taking 8-41 in the first innings as the Black Caps capitulated for 90 – their lowest total since being rolled for 68 against England in 2013.
The Pakistan veteran took seven wickets in 27 balls as he turned the Black Caps middle order into binary code – 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0 – as New Zealand eventually compiled six ducks in total, equalling the world record.
Outside of the Black Caps' top three, no batsman made more than Ajaz Patel's four, and most egregiously, none lasted for more than seven balls. From Ross Taylor at four to Trent Boult at 11, the Black Caps added just five runs – the least in test history from batsmen 4-11 - as they slumped from 50-0 to 90 all out.
At 328 runs behind and forced to follow on, the Black Caps at least showed some semblance of fight in the second innings, with Kane Williamson (30), Tom Latham (44 not out) and Ross Taylor (49 not out) seeing them through to 131-2 at stumps. However, the damage was done – with two days to go, the Black Caps trail by 197 runs, and based on today's batting effort, are surely only fighting for pride at this point.
Many of the Black Caps' batting problems exposed in the first test were exploited again by Pakistan, and their fatal flaw for many years – facing elite spin bowling – was the biggest of them all.
Shah became the first player this century to take 10 wickets in a day - having added two more for good measure in the second innings - and proved simply unplayable as the Black Caps imploded.
Incredibly, before Shah struck oil, it was all going so well for New Zealand. At 50-0 in response to Pakistan's 418-5, things were going solidly to plan for openers Latham and Jeet Raval, before Shah turned destroyer in the penultimate over before lunch and started a historically awful collapse.
A triple-wicket maiden was the commencement of the calamity, with ten wickets falling for just 40 runs, including a crumble from 61-1 to 72-8, as New Zealand capitulated on the Dubai wicket.
Latham, Taylor and Henry Nicholls were Shah's victims to start the stunning slide, as Williamson stood at the other end, watching his side's hopes disappear.
It was inspired bowling. Latham was the first to go, perturbed by significant bounce, and popping a catch to Imam ul-Haq at short leg, but the next two scalps were straight out of the legspinning manual.
Taylor got a peach of a delivery which pitched on middle stump and turned past his attempted forward defence, crashing into off stump, before Nicholls saw a ball rip back in between bat and pad and castle his stumps as well. Both batsmen were gone for two-ball ducks, and the Black Caps' innings lay in ruins.
Somehow, it got worse.
Immediately after lunch, BJ Watling found himself back in the pavilion, after a disastrous run-out. Channelling Pakistan's comedic stylings between the wickets, he had a major mix-up with Williamson when attempting what should have been a straightforward single, and was caught well short of his crease.
Colin de Grandhomme's wretched run with the bat then continued when he was trapped lbw for a fourth-ball duck, and none of the bowlers provided any resistance as, one by one, Shah sent them packing.
Williamson, who looked like he was playing at a different ground, was the only player to look at ease when facing Shah, but was left stranded, finishing unbeaten on 28. He passed Martin Crowe for fourth on New Zealand's all-time test run scoring list, but it all seemed irrelevant, in the midst of the chaos surrounding him.
And, as the Black Caps were forced to immediately return to the horrors after being asked to follow on, even Williamson couldn't survive Shah forever. After Shah had already stumped Raval, Williamson got a slight edge on another beautiful delivery, and had to depart.
Taylor and Latham tried to salvage something from the day, making a good attacking fist of the final session as they added an unbeaten 65. However, it didn't change much - when stumps were called due to bad light, it was a fitting end to a dark day for New Zealand's batsmen.
