ABU DHABI: The leaden-footed Australians found themselves bamboozled by Pakistan’s wily spinners and their trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand can expect similar treatment from Misbah-ul-Haq and his men in a three-Test series starting here on Sunday (today).

Left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar (14) and leggie Yasir Shah (12) shared 26 of the 40 Australian wickets between them to help Pakistan secure a comprehensive 2-0 win on the slow, turning wickets in the United Arab Emirates last week.

By retaining the same 16 who gave them their first Test series victory over Australia in 20 years, Pakistan have suggested they would employ the same tried-and-tested formula against the Brendon McCullum-led Black Caps.

Read: Pakistan maintain winning combination against Kiwis

“No changes have been made to the side that won the second Test against Australia. This is to ensure there is consistency, which will bring more stability and strengthen team bonding and combination,” chief selector Moin Khan said.

The slow nature of tracks in the UAE negated much of the threat posed by Australian pacemen, including Ashes hero Mitchell Johnson, while run-machine Younis Khan and his nimble-footed batting colleagues milked the touring spinners dry.

Australia’s specialist slow bowler Nathan Lyon bled 422 runs for his three wickets in the series that saw Younis hit two centuries and a double ton while Misbah and top order batsman Azhar Ali hit hundreds in both innings of the Abu Dhabi Test.

Misbah also equalled West Indies great Viv Richards’s fastest Test century record by blasting his second hundred in 56 balls in the Abu Dhabi contest.

“We need to keep the same momentum that we had against Australia and I am confident that the team will do that against a New Zealand team which can surprise any time,” Misbah said on Saturday.

“There is confidence in the side and not a weak link that you can see. The batsmen are in good form, the bowlers are delivering. Given that we are playing in the same conditions, we are confident that we can perform well.”

Misbah warned New Zealand are not to be taken lightly despite their low ranking.

“If you see the ranking then Australia are way above New Zealand but in international cricket rankings don’t play a major part.

“New Zealand is a kind of team that can really surprise you and one has to be aware of that. We have to be really focused against them because they can really give us a tough time,” said Misbah, who will become Pakistan’s most successful captain with 15 victories if he wins the match. He currently has 14 Test wins along with Imran Khan and Javed Miandad.

New Zealand coach Mike Hesson knows what it would take to upstage a formidable Pakistan team eying a second successive whitewash to close their current 12-point gap on second-placed Australia in Test rankings.

“I’d like to see us develop in two areas on this tour,” Hesson wrote on his blog on New Zealand Cricket website.

“The first is our ability to take wickets on un-responsive surfaces, and the second is that our batsmen all have a method to cope when the ball starts turning, to both defend and to score.”

Leggie Ish Sodhi and off-spinner Mark Craig will have to be at the best of their craft against a Pakistani batting order who play spin extremely well.

New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum was confident his team would be a different prospect to Australia.

“I think obviously Pakistan were excellent in their most recent series against Australia and thoroughly deserved their win. They are a formidable team in these conditions and we are well aware of the challenges that are in front of us,” he said.

“I think we have nice mix in the group with right and left option (in batting) which probably Australia didn’t have in the middle and hopefully that’s one of the factors that can help us combat Pakistan’s line-up.”

“If we perform well against Pakistan then we can look back on the last 18 months of pretty solid work and we are aware that we are a team who need to keep performing day in, day out because we are well down the ladder in the rankings and we are not happy with that,” McCullum said on Saturday.

“We want to keep improving and we work incredibly hard and this is a great opportunity to do so.”

The remaining two Tests will be played in Dubai (November 17-21) and Sharjah (November 26-30), before two Twenty20s and five one-day internationals.

Squads:

PAKISTAN: Misbah-ul Haq (captain), Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Taufeeq Umar, Shan Masood, Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, Haris Sohail, Mohammad Talha, Rahat Ali, Imran Khan, Ehsan Adil, Sarfraz Ahmed, Zulfiqar Babar, Yasir Shah.

NEW ZEALAND: Brendon McCullum (captain), Hamish Rutherford, Tom Latham, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Corey Anderson, BJ Watling, Luke Ronchi, Jimmy Neesham, Mark Craig, Tim Southee, Doug Bracewell, Neil Wagner, Trent Boult, Ish Sodhi.

Umpires: Rodney Tucker (AUS) and Ranmore Martinesz (SRI)

TV umpire: Paul Reiffel (AUS)

Match referee: Andy Pycroft (ZIM).

Published in Dawn, November 9th , 2014