Australia’s tour of the UAE versus Pakistan could not have started any better, nor could it have ended any worse. Australia won both limited overs series’ but awoke the beast in Pakistan’s test side that ended their 20 year wait to win a test series against the Aussies.
Australia comfortably won the only T20 International restricting and chasing 94 with six overs to spare.. Pakistan were then whitewashed 3-0 by Australia in the ODI series, beaten comprehensively by 93 runs in the First and by five wickets in the Second. The Third ODI brought one of the most bizarre finishes to a One Day International you will ever witness. Chasing 232 for victory, Pakistan required two runs off the final over with two wickets to spare. What followed was madness; a double wicket maiden from a part time spinner in the form of Glenn Maxwell won the match and clinched the whitewash.
Stand in Captain Shahid Afridi said his side must learn quickly if they have any chance at the upcoming World Cup ‘This game we had to win and we missed the opportunity. The World Cup is not very far, and we have to learn quickly’. The side drew large criticism from fans on social media and it is unthinkable how they stand a chance on seaming wickets which was supported in Afridi’ s claims ‘I think that if we can’t win on these pitches, our batsmen can’t make runs on them, then we have to think a lot about it’.
Test matches are not Pakistan’s strength or preferred format of the game, even more so when coming up against an opposition such as Australia. Even the most optimistic Pakistan or cricket fans in general, had little faith or insight into what they were set to achieve over the next two Test matches. They comfortably beat their opposition by 356 and 221 runs and Australia captain Michael Clarke admitted Pakistan were deserved winners ‘They played outstanding cricket in both Tests and we have been outplayed’.
Over the course of the series records tumbled and by beating the Aussies by 356 runs they made a new record of ‘victory margin’, previously 341 runs against India in Karachi, 2006. Ending the series Pakistan had scored nine centuries in a two match series, the most by any side. They have also made UAE a fortress, at least in the Test arena, losing just one Test match and winning six in their last three series against non-sub continental sides such as South Africa, England and most recently Australia. Misbah Ul-Haq who is arguably the most criticised cricketer to have played for the nation till date reached a number of milestones in a series he came into with humongous pressure. Misbah is now the joint record holder for most Test victories (14) alongside legends, Javed Miandad and Imran Khan. However Misbah has achieved this feat in 31 Tests, whereas Miandad and Khan took 34 and 48 respectively. He dedicated the victory to his team ‘It’s an honour for me to lead this side, the way everybody played. Every individual performed and I’m really happy. I can’t describe my feeling. We were working really hard and playing good cricket but not winning. It hurt the way we lost the ODI series and we were determined to come back’.
Despite the victories and records that fell, the most astounding of all was Misbah Ul-Haq scoring the fastest Test half century as well as joint fastest century with cricketing legend Sir Vivian Richards (56 deliveries). Misbah revealed he is humbled to even be mentioned in the same sentence as Sir Viv ‘I think the hundred is the biggest honour for me because I am nowhere near Sir Viv. But scoring a hundred in similar deliveries is something I am going to remember for my whole life,’ He also added ‘Somebody from the dressing room ran to me when I was on 80 off 45 balls and said the record is 56 balls. In either case, I was just trying to hit every ball’.
Coming into the series, experienced campaigners Younis Khan and Misbah Ul-Haq were both under humongous pressure and they responded how every great player has done. Scored runs, won the game and silenced their critics. In the four innings Younis batted he scored three consecutive hundreds and finished with an average of 156. His captain wasn’t far behind scoring two centuries and averaging 135. After being dropped from the ODI squad last month, Younis insisted he went through a tough time but never did he wish to prove a point to the selectors ‘I am not here to prove anything, I just wanted to show my character and to win games for my country. That one week I spent with my family and friends were tense, the media was tense, the entire Pakistan was tense for me.
During this series, Younis became Pakistan’s highest Test century maker, and reached 8000 Test runs, surfacing debates whether he is Pakistan’s greatest Test batsman to which he respectfully responded “I don’t think I can become a great like Javed, Inzamam, Yousuf. I can’t compare myself with them,” he said. “The era I am playing in, many things are easy for me compared to the time they played. I want to be remembered as a team man who served the team and as someone whose performances made his country proud.”
