As Pakistan currently sit at the top of ICC Test rankings for the first time since they were put to use in 2003, we discuss and cherish Pakistan’s 5 major victories over the last 6 years which have been instrumental in Pakistan’s rise in this format of the game. Under Misbah ul Haq, Pakistan have played 46 tests, won 22, lost 13 and drawn 11. Out of 46, Pak played 18 overseas (excluding Ban and Zim), won 6, lost 9 (including a 3-0 whitewash by SA in 2013) and drew 1. In the UAE, however, Pak have lost only 3, drawn 7 while won 14 out of 21. Here we find out Pak’s 5 greatest victories under Misbah.
1. New Zealand vs Pakistan, 1st Test, Hamilton, 07 Jan 2011.
It had been almost 5 years since Pak last won an overseas series, against Sri Lanka in 2006. Pak were touring NZ under Misbah’s second series as captain, and while no one rated them as favourites, they emerged to victory in the first test by 10 wickets to tell the world where they belonged. This series was also Pakistan’s first overseas since the infamous England tour of 2010, so it was important for them to keep their heads only in the game. In the 2-Test series, Pak drew the second test to clinch the series by 1-0, their first overseas series victory in 5 years.
2. England vs Pakistan, 2nd Test, Abu Dhabi, 25 Jan 2012.
England were first in rankings and were coming fresh from Ashes victory, while Pakistan were roaming at the middle of rankings table coming into the series. To silence their critics and to showcase them on the right path to become a top test team, Pak won the series 3-0, but the greatest of the 3 victories came in the second test in Abu Dhabi. Pak scored 257 in the first innings and later conceded a crucial 70-run lead by England. Pak scored 214 in the second innings giving England a mere target of 145. England looked set for the victory before Pak spin trio of Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman and Mohammad Hafeez bowled them out for 72, allowing Pak to win the series and setting the foundation for a rare whitewash, and that too against the top ranked side.
3. Australia vs Pakistan, 1st Test, Dubai, 22 Oct 2014.
Coming into this series, Pak had a very dismal record against Australia in Tests. They had their last series victory over Aus in 1994 and since then, they had lost 16 out of the 23 tests these teams played. They also had a winless streak against Australia from 1995 to 2010, so the odds were pretty much against Pakistan. When the series started, Pak got off to a typical Pakistani start, and both openers were back in the hut at the score of 7 before the veteran Younis Khan took the reign in his hands and scored his first test century against Australia, becoming the only Pak player to score a 100 against all test countries. Later managed by Sarfraz Ahmad’s 100, Pak scored 452 to bat Australia out of the game when they bowled them out around 300. Younis Khan scored a 100 in the second innings too to raise his century-tally against Aus from zero to two over the course of one match, handing Pak a great victory by 221 runs, setting the victory in the second test too where Pak won by 356 runs. 9 centuries were scored by Pak batsmen in the 2-test series and almost every Pak batsman amassed at least one hundred.
4. Sri Lanka vs Pakistan, 3rd Test, Pallekele, 3 July 2015.
In the 3-test series, Pak and SL had won one test each so far and the 3rd test was always going to be a great contest, but no one thought Pak would go on to record their highest chase in test cricket ever. In reply to Sri Lanka’s first innings 278, Pak were bowled out for 215, before conceding 313 more runs in the second innings leaving themselves with a target of 377 to chase. They were 2 down for 13 when Younis Khan joined Shan Masood in the middle. Masood scored a fantastic maiden 125 before getting stumped when Pakistan still needed 122. Younis Khan kept on scoring and amassed an effortless 171* to bring Pakistan home by 7 wickets, gifting them a series victory over Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka for the first time in a decade.
5. England vs Pakistan, 1st Test, Lord’s, 14 July 2016.
Pakistan were touring England for tests for the first time since the spot fixing scandal and were under great amount of heat as the first test at Lord’s approached. Critics had penned down England as favourites, before Misbah ul Haq took the stage by his lively 100 and press-ups on Day 1. Misbah 114 and Asad Shafiq 73 were instrumental as Pak scored 339 in the first innings before bowling England out for 272, courtesy Yasir Shah’s 6-fer, first 5-wicket haul by a Pak spinner since 1996. Pak were bowled out for 215 in the second innings leaving England with 283 to chase. The chase was disturbed heavily by Rahat Ali who took 3 wickets upfront before Yasir Shah took 4 wickets to clinch his maiden 10-wicket haul in tests. Pak won by 75 runs, their first victory at Lord’s in 20 years.
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