A win to savour

On the 70^th Independence Day of the country, Pakistan’s love affair with the Oval had another glorious chapter added to it as Misbahul Haq’s men romped home to a crushing 10-wicket win against England. The Test ended on the fourth day of final match with Pakistan registering not only their fifth win at the venue but also drawing the series 2-2 against a formidable opposition. After an impressive start to the series at Lord’s, Misbah’s men veered off course to crash to bruising defeats at Old Trafford and Edgbaston. But they came back all guns blazing at the Oval — an away venue where they have now won more Tests than any other ground around the world.

Younus Khan finally came good and churned out a double ton of the highest quality to silence his critics for the umpteenth time in his marvellous Test career. His epic effort set up a more than inspired bowling performance by leg-spinner Yasir Shah who overcame his nightmares from the second and third Tests with a five-wicket haul. Yasir set the tone for the win with his three wickets in the dying moments of the third day’s play, a spell that broke the back of the English top order.

The drawn series is a fair reflection on both teams, with both sides playing mercurial, engaging cricket. No one team wrestled the initiative long enough to take a decisive lead in the contest. If Pakistan lorded at Lord’s, England were outrageously good at Old Trafford before clawing back from an almost improbable situation to win at Edgbaston. Pakistan were at their irresistible best at the Oval and grounded the high-flying hosts with a clinical effort. For Misbah — declared man-of-the-series due to his leadership — a drawn series is another feather in his cap. When he reflects back at the contest he will have many memories to cherish albeit he might rue that half an hour of madness at Edgbaston cost Pakistan the game on the final day. Nevertheless, this was a fine performance by an accomplished Test unit, which now finds itself very close to the top of the Test rankings.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 16^th, 2016.

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