JUST imagine had Pakistan not lost those four wickets in 23 deliveries in the small period leading to tea break on the final day of the Edgbaston Test, all of us would have been celebrating a 2-1 series victory over England.

Instead, the cricketing world has just witnessed a shared rubber between these two teams. Judging by the seesaw results over the four Tests it was hard to separate them.

But Pakistan certainly deserve more plaudits than Alastair Cook’s outfit for several reasons. They arrived at The Oval in a quandary over the makeup of their playing XI to improve prospects of squaring the series. On the other, England were in an advantageous position in their bid to complete the rare feat of holding bilateral series trophies against all the other nine Test-playing nations and also become the top-ranked side.

The loss at Edgbaston was heartbreaking for Misbah-ul-Haq’s charges by all means. They held the aces for the better part of the first three days and then allowed the opponents get back into the match by letting Cook and his somewhat misfit opener Alex Hales wipe off the 103-run lead without being separated by third evening.

Left with 84 overs to play for a draw — which was the likeliest result at Edgbaston when Cook declared his second innings — there were no signs until the lunch interval of Pakistan capitulating to a 141-run defeat.

Had they exhibited resilience that last pair of Sohail Khan and Rahat Ali belatedly provided by holding the fort for 11 overs and had the same application was shown by those batting above them it would have been entirely different story.

In such a situation a team more than often, crumbles under heavy pressure. But not this time as Misbah became the first Pakistan captain to turn a 2-1 deficit into a well-earned 2-2 draw. His post-match views were not only exemplary but spot on. The mention of Hanif Mohammad — the legendary batsman of yesteryear who sadly died while during the first day of the final Test — by the captain was poignant.

Misbah’s glowing tribute to Younis Khan has been heard time and again since he assumed the captaincy. Indeed, Younis has been a lucky charm for the veteran leader. His epic 218 not just silenced — at least for the time being — the growing list of critics back home but also proved the point that he is a champion batsman. He may have looked ungainly and out of depth during the previous three Tests, but came to the party emphatically at The Oval when his country needed him most.

Like Misbah, age is no barrier for Younis as he now sits seven clear of Inzamam-ul-Haq in the list of Pakistan’s Test centuries and half of those 32 hundreds have been scored when Misbah has led Pakistan. By the time he finally goes, Younis will probably add another four to six three-figure knocks under his belt.

The entire Pakistan must offer gratitude to Mohammad Azharuddin for it was the former Indian captain’s word of wisdom before the game that finally got Younis going at The Oval. After collecting the richly deserved man-of-the-match award, Younis revealed he heeded to Azharuddin and made desirable adjustment to his position at the crease.

More than anyone, Misbah thoroughly deserved being Pakistan’s man-of-the series despite Younis and Azhar Ali scoring more runs than him. England head coach Trevor Bayliss nominated Misbah not just for his batting but also the manner in which he skippered the team throughout the campaign — a pleasing scenario if compared to the tragedies experienced on Pakistan’s last two tours of England in 2006 and 2010.

Mickey Arthur’s style of coaching will definitely face tough challenges ahead, but the beginning the ex-South Africa coach and now an Australian citizen has made is just what Pakistan required for the England Tests. There is room for improvement in all departments as Arthur must have gauged in the past one month or so, but one thing makes Pakistan stand tall in Test cricket is the brand they offer. The unpredictability will never go away and that is the beauty of our play. But Pakistan’s sharing the series has raised the hopes of their being more competitive when they head to New Zealand and Australia later this year.

Published in Dawn, August 16th, 2016