"Pretty sore but very happy" was how Iain O'Brien described NZ's bowling attack the day after they won the first Test against Pakistan.

Man-of-the-match Shane Bond and O'Brien were the stars on the final afternoon as they halted a Pakistan run-chase that at 165 for five at tea looked like it was going to get the 251 runs they needed to win at University Oval.

But Bond, minus the big toenail on his left foot, and O'Brien, who dislocated a finger during his crucial nine-over spell after tea, dug deep to turn the match the New Zealanders' way taking the wickets of the impressive Umar Akmal, his brother Kamran and Umar Gul.

Daniel Vettori then wrapped things up as Mohammad Asif edged to Ross Taylor before Mohammad Aamer spooned one straight back to the New Zealand captain.

O'Brien, who finished the innings with three for 63 off 23 overs, said there was never any chance of him relinquishing his bowling duties after having the finger on his right hand put back in.

In fact if anything, the injury appeared to galvanise the right-armer, who had gone wicket-less until the over before tea when Shoaib Malik gloved one to wicket-keeper Brendon McCullum.

"I'm not going to say it didn't because I'll never know. But I wasn't not going to bowl. I wanted to bowl. I wanted to be part of a Test win and to do something to change the game," said O'Brien, who will have his bruised, swollen finger assessed further on Monday.

"There was no way Dan (Vettori) was getting the ball out of my hand at that stage anyway."

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The 33-year-old admitted feeling under pressure heading into the second innings after a return of none for 98 first time round.

"If I didn't come out and bowl yesterday well that could have been me done for a while, if not for a long time," O'Brien continued.

"To go out and bowl well yesterday and play a part in a Test win is pretty good. It makes me feel better about my job and role in the team."

Bond marked his return to Test cricket after a two-year absence with a match-winning effort of eight for 153. He now has 87 wickets in 18 Tests.

"Having a guy who is a genuine wicket-taker and a genuine chance to take wickets is great for the whole line-up," said O'Brien.

"It is tough only having four bowlers though. It's tough on him, Chris (Martin) and myself. But we got the job done. We're pretty sore but very happy."

Chris Martin was something of an unsung hero. He removed Pakistan top order batsmen Khurram Manzoor and Imran Farhat early in the tourists' first innings and then helped Bond wrap up the tail early on day four.

He struck with the new ball again in their second innings to get Farhat once more and broke the partnership of Umar and Mohammad Yousuf when the Pakistan captain gloved one to McCullum to finish the match with five for 108.

All-rounder Grant Elliott, who replaced the retired Jacob Oram, is expected to ease the workload on the seamers and play a bigger part with the ball in the second Test in Wellington which gets under way on Thursday.

Pakistan, meanwhile, should have Misbah ul-Haq in their ranks by then to bolster their inexperienced batting line-up which - the Akmal brothers aside - struggled in Dunedin.

The 35-year-old had been on standby to join the 17-man squad as a replacement for absentee skipper Younis Khan after initially being dropped for the limited overs and Test series squads to face New Zealand.

He was described as a "tremendous slip fielder" by coach Intikhab Alam in the aftermath of their loss in Dunedin, and a below-par performance in that area - five catches were shelled in the slips - plus the need to shore up the batting line-up is likely to see the right-hander come straight into the side.

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