The Pakistan cricket team reached back home late night, after a long tour against South Africa in the United Arab Emirates. Pakistan played two T20s, Five ODIs and two Test matches during their stay in UAE.The Pakistan team manager, Intikhab Alam expressed satisfaction over the team’s efforts, saying that it did well in its nerve wrecking tour.
The tour started horribly for the Green shirts as they first lost the two T20s and then also went on to lose the One-day International series 3-2. But, it can be said that the ODI series was a far more exciting event than the T20s. The ODI match series started poorly for Pakistan as they lost miserably in the opening game. But, the series came to life in the second match when Abdul Razzaq singlehandedly won the match for Pakistan through his remarkable innings.
The one-man-army Razzaq pulverized the Proteas by denying them a sure shot victory. This win injected adrenalin in the Pakistan squad as well as the Pakistan supporters. The third match was again a nail biter but, South Africa came out as victors.
In the fourth ODI, Pakistan showed some exceptional talent with the bat yet again while chasing last. This time, the hero for the team was Wahab Riaz, who played a hard hitting innings to help steer his team over the finish line.
After Pakistan's victory in the fourth ODI, the series was tied and this made the fifth and final ODI even more interesting. But South Africa proved too good for the Green bats and edged a win in the series. Even though Pakistan lost, their performance in the last ODI was commendable.
Pakistan’s fortunes changed in the Test series with the change of leadership. Misbah-ul-Haq was announced the captain of the Test side before the team left for the Arabian Desert. Although, this decision was severely criticised but nevertheless, the selection committee stuck to it and kept Misbah as the Test captain of the national squad.
Misbah has been reckoned by many to have the best tactical mind in Pakistan cricket. The middle order batsman kept his cool as he was facing raised eyebrows from every corner over his selection in the squad as skipper.
Misbah’s ability to lead the team came to light in the first Test match where the captain played exceptionally well in the second innings and saved the match for Pakistan. Other Pakistan batsmen also batted impressively and ended the game in a draw. This was an achievement considering the fact that South Africa had dominated the match for four consecutive days.
The Pakistan squad went into the second Test with a bit of confidence. However, they failed to put pressure on the South Africans who were batting first. The Afrikaans managed to put a huge total on the board. And yet again it seemed that Pakistan were going to be buried in this five day clash. But Misbah was not going to let that happen and stood as a wall in front of the S. African bowlers on the last day of the match.
In the ODIs and Tests, Pakistan gave a tough time to the formidable South Africans. This is a good sign for the controversy ridden Pakistan team and they now need to get their minds off the controversies and back on the game.
