centuries from openers Salman Butt and Imran Farhat guided Pakistan close to New Zealand's massive first-innings lead as the visitors ended the third day on 128 without loss in the third and final Test here Sunday. Butt brushed aside his failure in the first innings with 66 not out while Farhat, who scored a century and carried his bat in the first essay, was batting on 55 after New Zealand innings ended on 471. Pakistan still needed 120 runs to make New Zealand bat again with two days remaining in a series which is locked at 1-1. The host, which was boosted by a century from captain Daniel Vettori, extended its lead with stubborn resistance from the lower order. Daryl Tuffey, overnight on 13, reached his maiden Test fifty and remained unbeaten on 80. Vettori and Tuffey added 87 invaluable runs for the seventh wicket before Mohammad Asif removed the gritty New Zealand captain for 134. Leg-spinner Danish Kaneria was Pakistan's most successful bowler as he ended with figures of 7-168 as New Zealand gained a lead of 248 runs. Scores: Pakistan 128 for 0 (Butt 66*, Farhat 55*) and 223 trail New Zealand 471 (Vettori 134, Tuffey 80*, Kaneria 7-168) by 120 runs. Bangladesh recalls ICL rebels Bangladesh has recalled four players who appeared in the Indian Cricket League (ICL) for their preliminary squad for a tri-series here in January. A “cooling off” period for Shahriar Nafees, Aftab Ahmed, Alok Kapali and Dhiman Ghosh expires on Dec. 31, the Bangladesh Cricket Board said Saturday. The tri-nation One-Day International series involving host Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka takes place from Jan. 4 to 13. The quartet were part of the Bangladesh squad before they opted to join the ICL's Dhaka Warriors, comprising 14 players from Bangladesh. The BCB subsequently banned them for 10 years.
