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Dubai - Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq reserved special praise for the West Indies Darren Bravo after the batsmen's efforts to frustrate his team in the first Test of the series in Dubai.
Misbah also took time to address some issues his bowler's
had with the pink ball during the first ever day/night Test in Asia.
Bravo would bat for 406 minutes on his way to 116 in the
fourth innings of the match to run Pakistan close and his efforts were not lost
on Misbah.
The Pakistan skipper said: "The way he handled Yasir
Shah, that was really something special. He [Yasir] was turning the ball from
roughs but he [Bravo] showed good defence and attacked him at times.
"That was the main reason he neutralised Yasir for
quite a long time but still Yasir managed to take wickets. Every passing ball
was putting pressure but thankfully we managed to win the game. You should give
credit to the opposition, they played really well and it was a good game in the
end."
Speaking of Pakistan's almost inexplicable collapse on day
four that brought the West Indies back into the game, Micah said: "It was
tough for the team and for the captain.
"Certainly you were ahead of them for almost three and
a half days but in one session you had given the advantage to the opposition.
Maybe had we batted for another 15 overs, with 400 runs on board we could have
got them out early."
Misbah was happy with most aspects of the Test but pointed
out that the pink ball became tough to bowl with in the evening as dew would cause
the ball to swell.
The skipper commented: "A bit of dew in the evening
session was affecting the ball. With the sogginess, the ball was getting softer
so different factors contributed and helped the batsmen score runs.
"Spinners and fast bowlers will get more help and
reverse swing will also be there in the dry weather. But in the evening the
pink ball was getting wet and the seam was swelling and it got softer.
"The pitch was on the slower side, I don't know why,
but otherwise the Dubai pitch normally starts deteriorating after two days. But
since the dew was helping the pitch bind again and it wasn't breaking up at the
same rate it used to.
"But in the end it was a good Test match, both teams played really well, and it's good for the Test cricket."
