At No 5 I’m always prepared for crises, says Misbah

Having already made a statement with a telling 0match-turning century yesterday...

Having already made a statement with a telling 0match-turning century yesterday, Pakistan’s blue-eyed boy of this tour, Misbah-ul-Haq, extended his saviour act today, helping his team avoid the follow-on.

So, what is that makes this player stand out against India? “Well, it’s not about specially planning innings like these. You can’t play with a mindset thought out in advance. You have to deal with situations they way they come, that’s how I play,” Misbah pointed out after the fourth day’s play.

As for what’s the secret of handling pressure so well, a candid Misbah admitted that it all boils down to getting used to the position he bats in.

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“I bat at No 5 in the Test team. It’s a position in the batting line-up where you usually get situations like the one we faced here. I don’t plan beforehand. Instead, I play normal cricket. That’s how a player in my position should approach the game, just apply himself according to situations or crises,” Misbah explained.

Showering praise on Kamran Akmal for the other ton of the innings, Misbah pointed out two sessions in the match that made much of the difference so far — the last session yesterday, and this morning.

“The Eden wicket was getting really difficult to bat on since yesterday afternoon. And it was a great effort to last out the third session yesterday without losing a wicket, after we were five down much earlier in the day,” the right-hander said, adding: “And then of course, this morning we managed to avoid the follow-on despite the Indian spinners bowling exceptionally well.”

Meanwhile, on India’s part, Kumble & Co are waiting for the wicket to break up, informs Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

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Stumper MS Dhoni reckons that the team management is looking forward to the wicket playing its part on the fifth day. “In India, even after four predictable days in a Test match, the trend is, you get a wicket on the last day which crumbles and does funny things.

“We are looking forward to something like that happening tomorrow. We will have fielders all around the Pakistani batsmen tomorrow.

On a fifth day wicket, you never know what can happen, with our spinners in action,” Dhoni said.