Misbah looking to maintain momentum
Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq hopes that his side is able to maintain the momentum they have gathered during their recent series victory over Australia with a convincing victory over New Zealand this month.
<b>Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq hopes that his side is able to maintain the momentum they have gathered during their recent series victory over Australia with a convincing victory over New Zealand this month.</b>
The 40-year-old Misbah led Pakistan to their first victory over Australia in 20 years when they thrashed Michael Clarke's men in a two-Test series in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in recent weeks.
Misbah needs just one more victory as captain of the side in order to surpass the record of 14 Test wins as skipper currently shared by Imran Khan and Javed Miandad.
Pakistan's recent record in the United Arab Emirates – which includes six victories in seven matches with only South Africa claiming a Test victory there recently – and New Zealand's lack of experience in foreign conditions suggests that it is a foregone conclusion that the record will be broken.
"I am confident that we will play good cricket against New Zealand, and we should play that way," Misbah said before the start of the series.
"There is confidence in the side and not a weak link that you can see. The batsmen are in good form, the bowlers are delivering. Given that we are playing in the same conditions, we are confident that we can perform well."
Pakistan have retained the same squad for the first Test and will likely make no changes from the two Test matches against Australia, the last of which took place at the same Abu Dhabi.
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