Pakistan’s Misbah-ul-Haq became his country’s most successful captain as his team strolled to victory by 248 runs in their first Test against New Zealand yesterday, taking a 1-0 lead in the
three-match series.
The victory gave Misbah 15 wins in 33 Tests, bettering the 14-win record of the illustrious Imran Khan (48 Tests) and Javed Miandad (34 Tests).
“It’s a great feeling to be part of the winning team. It’s a young team, nobody expected us to perform like this,” Misbah said. “I have always believed in myself and in my team and that paid off.”
Pakistan had needed two wickets after their opponents resumed at 174-8, but it took only 16.3 overs for them to reach their target as New Zealand folded at 231 in 70.3 overs.
Misbah said it was nice to have a turn around after losing the Test series 2-0 in Sri Lanka in August.
“Sometimes you have to be patient. It was an absolute disaster for me, I didn’t get any runs in Sri Lanka and one-day series against Australia, but I kept calm through that,” Misbah said.
New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum said he was disappointed.
“Obviously, we were clearly second in this Test match,” McCullum said. “Congratulations to Misbah and his team. They were dominant in this Test match and we have a fight on our hands in the next two games. We’ve got to make sure we keep improving. Spin is obviously a threat, but so is reverse swing.”
Kiwi Mark Craig, who along with Ish Sodhi (63) had delayed Pakistan’s defeat after batting for 14.5 overs on Wednesday, could not prolong his resistance as he was bowled by leg-spinner Yasir Shah for 28 off the first ball of the second over in the day.
However, Sodhi, who added 39 for the ninth wicket, further defied the bowling with a career-best knock, adding 54 runs for the last wicket with No. 11 Trent Boult, who made 19 not out.
Sodhi hit seven boundaries and a six during his two-hour resistance before he was finally trapped leg-before by paceman Imran Khan, who finished with 2-37.
Shah finished with 3-74, while Zulfiqar Babar and Rahat Ali took two wickets for 48 runs each.
This was Pakistan’s third Test win in a row after they white-washed Australia 2-0 last week, their first series win over the Aussies for 20 years.
It was again a case of Trans-Tasman neighbors Australia and New Zealand failing to cope against Asian spinners. However, New Zealand still have a better record in the continent than their Aussie cousins, losing six of their 13 Tests, winning two and drawing five.
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