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Pakistan 160 for 5 (Umark Akmal 55*, Bond 3-38, Martin 2-42) trail New Zealand 429 (Vettori 99, Taylor 94, McCullum 78, Asif 4-108) by 269 runs

We've been expecting you, Mr Bond. And it's been worth the wait. Finally back in New Zealand whites, finally hurling that red thing in anger on a flat slowish pitch, Shane Bond - with pure pace - rattled the Pakistan middle order during a seven-over spell of 3 for 25. It took him the first spell to graduate from the early 140 kmh to close to 150, but during that time Chris Martin took out the openers, and Iain O'Brien - bowling into a stiff wind - troubled the batsmen enough to not let them feel at home. Equally excitably, Umar Akmal launched a counterattack from 85 for 5, impressing all with his dazzling stroke play and clear head, taking Pakistan to within 70 of the follow-on mark.

Unlike their Pakistan counterparts, New Zealand's new-ball bowlers could get neither seam movement nor swing. They were helped, though, by the ordinary techniques of the top three batsmen. Martin, who had earlier got his 26th duck, was at the right place at the right time with the ball: first when Khurram Manzoor - his guard outside leg stump - went to cut him, ended up playing away from the body, and chopped it on. And then when Imran Farhat moved across his stumps and played down the wrong line. With three dropped catches and a failure at the top, the Test couldn't have gone worse for Farhat, but he wasted one of the two reviews too.

Mohammad Yousuf edged over and short of slips before lunch, looking uncomfortable, but a sterner examination was to follow after the break. His third over into the session, Bond gave him a bouncer at 151 kmph that just evaded the edge, followed by a yorker at 149 and a legcutter just outside off, again just avoiding the edge. It seemed it would take something more special to dismiss Yousuf and Bond pulled that out too: diving low in front of him, during his follow through, to take a return catch. Two balls later, he gave Fawad Alam the perfect lifter, not wide of off, high enough to have him jumping, and too fast for the batsman to pull his glove out of the way. Sheer bloody joy.

Another lifter came in the next over. Shoaib Malik, semi-backing away, didn't have enough room and guided it onto his stumps: 74 for 2 had become 85 for 5. In the interim, though, Umar had cut his first ball in Tests, from Bond, for four. Then came the shot of the day. Umar would have been forgiven had he played a forward-defensive to this ball from Daniel Vettori, but he rocked back and pulled it over wide long-on, so clean that it almost carried for a six.

Before Bond finished his spell, he induced an edge from Umar, but it went low and fast to the left of Daniel Flynn at gully. Another sharp Bond bouncer got a top edge that fell short of the slip cordon. Those were the only blotches on Umar's innings. His elder brother, Kamran, duly took the back seat as Umar cut, drove, pulled, slog-swept, and punched his way to 50 off 57 balls, and consequently forced more defensive fields.

Vettori, who gave O'Brien a deserved breather after 11 consecutive and tight overs for 28 runs, surprisingly proved to be the weak link during that counterattack. Boundaries were hit in three of his first five overs, and the partnership was on its way. By tea the two had added 75 in 17.2 overs.

Earlier New Zealand chose not to declare overnight and a 24-run ninth-wicket stand between Bond and O'Brien kept Pakistan in the field for longer than they would have wanted to. And a doosra from Saeed Ajmal gave Martin his sixth duck in six innings against Pakistan. But he would have more to cheer about later in the day.