When Pakistan lost their lone T20 International and the three-match ODI series against Australia last month, people were expecting an even worse performance in the Test series because Pakistan team is considered better in the shorter versions of the game.
But an unexpected performance from a comparatively inexperienced side surprised not only the spectators but the Australian team too. Pakistan outplayed the Aussies in every department, but the batsmen’s performance was simply amazing.
Pakistan not only won the Test series against Australia after 20 years, but also whitewashed them after 32 years.
Pakistan won the last Test series against Australia in 1994, when they won the three-match series 1-0 at home.
Since then, Pakistan had lost six and drawn one Test series against Australia.
Veteran Younis Khan took the revenge of being dropped from One-day International series and scored 468 runs -- the best score by a Pakistan batsman in a two-match series and overall the second best performance, after Sanath Jayasuriya’s 571 runs against India in 1997.
Younis scored two centuries and a double-hundred in the series, attaining an average of 156.
During the series, Younis became the third Pakistani batsman to have 8000 Test runs, after Javed Miandad (8332) and Inzamam-ul-Haq (8329).
Skipper Misbah-ul-Haq, who had been so dejected with his form that he had skipped the last ODI against Australia, regained his form and proved his skills by scoring 271 runs at an average of 135.5 with the help of two hundreds and one fifty.
The man turned from "Tuk Tuk to Tez Tarin" in the second Test at Abu Dhabi, first scoring fifty off 21 balls, surpassing Jacques Kallis’ 24-ball record and then equaling Viv Richards’ 56-ball hundred record.
With the second Test win, Misbah joined the great Imran Khan and Javed Miandad with 14 Test wins as captain. Misbah achieved this milestone in only 31 Tests. Imran and Miandad led Pakistan in 34 and 48 Tests, respectively.
Misbah also surpassed Imran as the captain with most Test runs. He has now 2447 runs in Test matches as captain, ahead of Imran’s 2408. Misbah and Younis have now had 11 century partnerships. The previous record was ten century partnerships, jointly held by Inzamam and Yousuf and Miandad and Mudassar Nazar.
Azhar Ali, Ahmed Shehzad, Asad Shafiq and Sarfraz Ahmed also batted brilliantly.
During the Test series nine hundreds were scored by Pakistani batsmen, the most by any team in a two-match series.
On the other hand, the most inexperienced bowling attack destroyed the Australian batting line. Left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar (14 wickets) and debutant Yasir Shah (12 wickets) filled the void left by the ban on Saeed Ajmal.
Fast bowlers Imran Khan and Rahat Ali made good use of the new ball and provided breakthroughs at important stages.
The Test series against New Zealand starts from today. The morale of the team is high. After the comprehensive win over Australia, it looks easy for Pakistan to beat New Zealand in favourable conditions.
From 1955 to 2010-11, twenty Test series have been played between the two countries: 13 were won by Pakistan, only two by New Zealand, while eight series ended without a result.
The two nations have played 50 Test matches so far: Pakistan have a clear edge with 23 wins; the Kiwis remained successful in only seven Tests, while 20 Tests ended in draw.
Against New Zealand, Miandad is the most successful Pakistani batsman with 1919 runs in 18 Tests at an average of 79.95, including seven centuries and six half-centuries. For New Zealand, former skipper Martin Crowe scored 973 runs with the help of two hundreds and six fifties.
Waqar Younis is the leading wicket-taker with 70 wickets in 13 matches, at an average of 19.60; Wasim Akram is just behind him with 60 scalps in nine Tests, at an average of 17.01.
New Zealand’s Richard Hadlee took 51 Pakistan wickets in 12 Tests, at an average of 28.29.