THE GRITTY Misbahul Haq became Pakistan’s most successful captain on Thursday with a resounding victory in the first Test against New Zealand in Abu Dhabi. The victory took him one ahead of the joint record for most wins held by former skippers Imran Khan (14 in 48 matches) and Javed Miandad (14 in 35 matches). Misbah has led his country in 33 games so far.

“It’s a great feeling, especially being part of a winning team,” said an unassuming Misbah after registering his third successive win on the back of the 2-0 rout of Australia in the preceding series.

Chasing a fearsome 480-run target, New Zealand were bowled out for 231 on the final day on Thursday, leaving their rivals victorious by a big margin of 248 runs.

Misbah’s fortunes have seen an unbelievable turnaround in a matter of weeks. He was in danger of not only losing the captaincy but also his place in the team after a disastrous tour of Sri Lanka in August. But hard times brought out the best in him.

He led by example, scoring three centuries in a row, and in the process proving the adage: “When the going gets tough the tough get going”.

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2014