Opening batsman Devon Conway heaped praise on fast bowler Naseem Shah at the end of day one of second Test between Pakistan and New Zealand in Karachi. 

“He bowled with good energy, hit good area,” said the left-hander in a press conference on Monday. 

“He moved the ball both ways which made it quite challenging for myself and Kane (Williamson). And he reaped the rewards towards the end when he got Kane out.” 

Conway scored a century on the opening day of the game before getting dismissed by spinner Agha Salman on 122 during the third session. 

“I’ve been fortunate to get good support, not only from players but also support staff,” the 31-year-old said, adding that the freedom to be himself on-field helps his game. “I’ve got to give a lot of credit to the environment and culture that we have going at the moment.” 

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The Kiwi batsman, who is playing red-ball cricket in Asia for the first time, said the conditions are very different than that from his home. “I grew up on hard and fast bouncy surfaces, whereas, here in the last two matches a lot of balls have been on slightly lower bounce; making it more challenging for me,” he said. 

Cricket pitches in Pakistan have lately been under fire due to its flatness and poor quality that provided no assistance to fast bowlers in the series against Australia and England. Last month Rawalpindi pitch received a “below average” rating from International Cricket Council for the second time. 

Despite Shahid Afridi, Pakistan’s interim chief selector, promising a “bouncy wicket” for the second Test, the New Zealand top-order seemed unbothered during the first half of the day. “It was nice batting with Tom (Latham) there and Kane, we managed to form some good partnership,” Conway said. 

Pakistan managed a comeback in the final session after tea getting six key wickets, four of which fell to spinners. The Kiwi batsman applauded the fightback by the opponent team. 

“The surface got drier later, which offered a little bit more spin for the turners so credit to Pakistan bowlers for getting those five wickets,” Conway said. 

New Zealand were 309 at the loss of six wickets at the end of day one with Agha Salman grabbing three, Shah two and Abrar Ahmed one wicket. 

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