Pakistan captain Mohammad Yousuf fell 11 runs short of his 25th Test century Monday to ensure the third Test against New Zealand remains intriguingly balanced in Napier. Openers Imran Farhat (61) and Salman Butt (66) fell early on, but Yousuf saw Pakistan to 347-4 on a rain interrupted day four, 99 runs ahead of the hosts. Yousuf put on a 128-run stand with Faisal Iqbal (67) before he fell to Iain O'Brien six overs before close. The unlikely Martin Guptill (2-28) was New Zealand's most effective bowler. Black Caps skipper Daniel Vettori took the leftfield option and began the day with Guptill's part-time off-spin - and his decision immediately paid dividends. Butt chipped the third ball of the day back to the opener without adding to his overnight 66, while Farhat contributed just six to his overnight total of 55 before drilling another return catch attempting to skip down the track at 146-2. With momentum shifting back in New Zealand's favor, skipper Yousuf and Faisal made a cautious start before unleashing a series of eye-catching strokes in between rain showers at McLean Park. Faisal was dropped on 48 when the usually reliable Ross Taylor grassed a straightforward chance off Iain O'Brien at first slip. And Faisal compounded his error by smashing a boundary to bring up his half century and put Pakistan in front. Taylor atoned for his earlier error when he caught Iqbal at first slip off fast bowler Chris Martin shortly before tea, with Yousuf unbeaten on 75. With the 35-year-old seemingly set for yet another three-figure score, O'Brien made the vital breakthrough when Yousuf nicked a delivery outside off stump to keeper Brendon McCullum. But his dismissal allowed the impressive Umar Akmal to unleash a blistering array of strokes, opening his innings with a six off Daryl Tuffey. With Umar unbeaten on 48 - accompanied by Misbah-ul-Haq - New Zealand needs early wickets on day five to stand any chance of recording a series win with the rubber tied at 1
