Pakistan vs. South Africa, 1st Test: Misbah-ul-Haq revels in Dubai draw
Pakistan’s Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq is pleased after his team’s brilliant effort on day five of the first Test against South Africa that helped them salvage a draw from an extremely tough situation.
Misbah, who was captaining for the first time in Test cricket, was all praise for seasoned middle-order batsman Younis Khan who was the man who stood firm to post his third consecutive second innings ton against the Proteas.
"This feels like a win. The team put in a wonderful effort under pressure," he said. "I was under quite a bit of pressure before this Test but I think my performance today will make it easier for me.
"On the second day the bowlers brought us back into the game the plan today was to be positive and not just try to stick it out. Younis' knock today was a special one."
The right-hander was himself making a comeback to the national team; his last outing in the longest format was the Sydney Test earlier in the year which has since then turned into a massive controversy after Pakistan’s remarkable
surrender on the last day of the match that they had in their control for all but two sessions.
He fell for just 9 runs in the first innings and was under immense pressure as he strode out to combat the spin and pace attack of the Proteas on the final day. Another factor that was weighing against him was his ordinary record
in the fourth innings of a Test match.
He had a measly 12-run average in the fourth innings and needed a big knock which he succeeded in providing with an unbeaten 76.
On the other hand, the South African captain, who himself notched a hundred in the first innings of the match, was disappointed at failing to dislodge Pakistan on the final day, yet the opener conceded that
it was always going to be a tough task on a benign wicket.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757 claimed a single wicket on the final day and were left ruing the missed opportunities that were cashed in by both Younis and Misbah in their resolute stand that defied Graeme Smith’s team for
the best part of two sessions.
"We knew it was going to be hard because on this wicket once the batsmen get in it was tough to get them out," he said. "The wicket got slower and slower as the Test went on. Credit must go to Pakistan, especially
to Younis, he played really well. Missed chances are always costly but nobody does it on purpose. It was unusual for those guys to miss those chances because they have been stalwarts of the team for a long time. So obviously they are disappointed with that.
But we've played good positive cricket throughout the game and we'll take that into Abu Dhabi."
The next Test is set to be played on a similar wicket at Abu Dhabi which will become the third test centre in the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/United-Arab-Emirates-c3033.
The pitch might be a touch faster yet it is expected to favour the batsmen on the whole.
The South Africans are expected to retain the same eleven that caused Pakistan so much trouble in the first Test; on the other hand, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Misbah-ul-Haq-c1972 has some selectorial issues to deal with, starting with the
unavailability of seamer Wahab Riaz who injured his side muscle during the first Test and is set to miss the series decider.
Either Mohammad Sami or Tanvir Ahmed would take his place in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755’s team for Abu Dhabi. Tanvir in particular would be hopeful of finally representing his country in an International after cooling his
heels on the sidelines since the start of the English tour last May.
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