Pakistan vs New Zealand Tests 2022-23: Both Tests Drawn in Karachi — Sarfaraz Ahmed 335 Runs, Williamson 200*, Babar 161

The New Zealand tour of Pakistan Test series December 2022-January 2023 ended drawn 0-0 across 2 Tests — both played at National Stadium, Karachi. Sarfaraz Ahmed scored 335 runs across the series (three fifties and one century, average 83.75) to win Player of the Series. Kane Williamson scored 200* in the 1st Test (his first Test since stepping down from New Zealand's red-ball captaincy). Babar Azam scored 161 in the 1st Test. Babar Azam captained Pakistan; Tim Southee captained New Zealand. The series was New Zealand's first Test tour of Pakistan since 2002 was cancelled — a 20-year absence.

Sarfaraz Ahmed 335 Runs: The Comeback Player of the Series

Sarfaraz Ahmed's 335-run series total — the most by any batter across both sides in the Karachi bilateral — winning the Player of the Series gave the 2022-23 Pakistan-NZ series its compelling individual narrative: the Karachi-born wicketkeeper who had been dropped from Pakistan's Test team following a string of poor results under his captaincy in 2019-2020, returning to the Test team and immediately producing a 335-run bilateral as Pakistan's most consistent batter confirmed that his removal from the Test team had been a form and selection decision rather than a career ending. Sarfaraz's 118 in the 2nd Test's 4th innings — Pakistan chasing 319 to win, ultimately finishing 304/9 to draw the match and save the series at 0-0 — was the crucial innings of the bilateral: Pakistan's wicketkeeper-batter batting deep into the chase, constructing an innings that kept the series drawn rather than allowing New Zealand to win the 2nd Test and lead 0-1. The 335-run aggregate confirmed that Sarfaraz's return to Pakistan's Test middle-order (as a specialist batter and keeper rather than as captain) had been the right selection call for Pakistan's batting depth.

Kane Williamson 200* and Babar 161: The 1st Test Batting Feast

The 1st Test at Karachi producing two of the series' most celebrated batting performances simultaneously — Babar Azam scoring 161 for Pakistan in Pakistan's 1st innings and Kane Williamson scoring 200* for New Zealand in New Zealand's 1st innings — gave the opening Karachi Test its high-scoring, flat-pitch character: both sides building large totals (Pakistan 438 and 311/8d; New Zealand 612/9d) on a Karachi surface that offered neither pace bowlers nor spinners consistent wicket-taking assistance, producing the drawn match that flat sub-continent pitches typically deliver when both teams bat well. Williamson's 200* — his fifth Test double-century, achieved in his first Test match after stepping down from New Zealand's red-ball captaincy (Southee taking over the Test captaincy to free Williamson from leadership duties and allow him to focus solely on batting) — gave the 1st Test Karachi its individual standout: New Zealand's most decorated batter producing a double century in the very first Test of his post-captaincy batting era. Ish Sodhi's 6/86 for New Zealand in the 1st Test was the most significant bowling performance across both Tests.

Pakistan vs New Zealand Tests 2022-23 in Context

The Pakistan vs New Zealand Test series December 2022-January 2023 — both Tests at National Stadium Karachi — produced a 0-0 drawn bilateral with Sarfaraz's 335-run Player of the Series comeback, Williamson's 200* and Babar's 161 in the 1st Test, and Sarfaraz's 118 saving the 2nd Test draw (Pakistan 304/9 chasing 319). Babar Azam's Pakistan — hosting New Zealand in Karachi in their second major bilateral Test series after Australia's March 2022 return — drew the bilateral without producing a decisive result from either team: the Karachi pitches favouring batting aggregates over bowling wickets in both matches, giving the series its flat-track drawn character while delivering three individual batting hundreds (Sarfaraz, Williamson, Babar) and a near-series-deciding 2nd Test chase.