IT was no less than a spectacle to watch Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq treat the Australian bowling with utmost disdain and flog them to first record the fastest half-century in Test cricket facing only 21 deliveries and then equal Sir Viv Richards’ 28-year-old feat of scoring the fastest Test century off just 56 balls against England at St John’s in Antigua.

This unarguably will go down as one the most entertaining batting displays by any Pakistan batsman in history which no doubt reminds me Majid Khan who mauled the New Zealand bowlers in the Karachi Test of 1976 achieving the distinction of scoring a century before lunch on the first day of the match.

The quality of Misbah’s assault was intended and purposeful to extend the lead to a point from where the Australians instead of going for the chase could only be happier to play a game of survival.

I did not see Richards clout the Englishmen in 1986 at his home ground nor did I witness Australian wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist play in the same vain as Richards, hitting a 57-ball hundred against England at Perth but I could now imagine how entertaining and exciting those moments would have been.

The Pakistan captain after yesterday’s performance will no doubt be remembered in the same breath when mention will ever be made of playing attacking cricket. Mostly muted in his approach as well as in displaying his emotions, Misbah’s aggression, while hoisting Steve Smith for fours and sixes, belied his make-up which usually shows him as a cool customer who is undemonstrative and sublime in nature.

“I am proud that I now share the record of fastest century with Richards but I am nowhere near him,” Misbah humbly admitted.

His century in each innings of a Test and also that of Azhar Ali was another landmark which makes us all proud no doubt.

This certainly is not a dream but an inexplicable and an unpredictable transformation which Misbah and his men have been demonstrating in this series despite Australia’s dominance in the limited over games prior to the Tests.

The Pakistan manager and the chairman of the selectors Moin Khan believe that this certainly is not a fluke but a result of lot of hard work put in by everyone to bring the much-needed confidence which our team lacked after successive failures in Sri Lanka and here at the start of the tour.

“Criticism gets the best out of you and we have had full share of it in the last few months which makes us all the more determined,” Moin said. Everyone including Waqar Younis has worked very hard to give the team the confidence which they so badly needed,” remarked Moin.

“I think one good performance makes all the difference to the mind-set of the team. I must accept the fact that Younis Khan’s presence and his phenomenal batting have made great impact on everyone in the dressing room besides giving the team the confidence that we all can do a lot better than before,” Moin admitted.

One hopes that they will carry on with that determined and confident approach even today on the final day to bag the series. The Pakistan bowlers will obviously enter the field fit and fresh and Australia already struggling will be on tenterhooks to avoid what seems to be inevitable.

Fastest centuries in Test cricket

Batsman Balls Country Opposition Year

Viv Richards 56 West Indies England 1986Misbah-ul-Haq 56 Pakistan Australia 2014Adam Gilchrist 57 Australia England 2006Jack Gregory 67 Australia South Africa 1921S. Chanderpaul 69 West Indies Australia 2003David Warner 69 Australia India 2012Chris Gayle 70 West Indies Australia 2009Roy Fredericks 71 West Indies Australia 1975Majid Khan 74 Pakistan New Zealand 1976Kapil Dev 74 India Sri Lanka 1986M. Azharuddin 74 India South Africa 1996

... and fastest half-centuries

Batsmant Balls Country Opposition Year

Misbah-ul-Haq 21 Pakistan Australia 2014Jacques Kallis 24 South Africa Zimbabwe 2005Shane Shillingford 25 West Indies New Zealand 2014Shahid Afridi 26 Pakistan India 2005Mohammad Ashraful 26 Bangladesh India 2007Mohammad Yousuf 27 Pakistan South Africa 2003Foffie Williams 28 West Indies England 1948Ian Botham 28 England India 1981Chris Gayle 28 West Indies New Zealand 2014Bruce Yardley 29 Australia West Indies 1978Tim Southee 29 New Zealand England 2008

Published in Dawn, November 3rd, 2014