Misbah-ul-Haq has often been the butt of jokes for his perceived inability to score runs quickly. Nicknames like “Tuk Tuk” have stuck, while he is often the subject of ridicule in his own country. However, he equalled Sir Viv Richards‘ record of fastest ever Test ton in the second match against Australia. Shiamak Unwalla looks at the man who vindicated himself with the onslaught.
Misbah-ul-Haq possesses qualities that are not found in most Pakistani cricketers: quietness, calmness, patience, steadiness, immovability, and above all, dependability. He is the still water in a deluge of rashness that is Pakistan batting. He usually comes in to bat in a crisis and ends up having to resuscitate a drowning boat. And they call him “Tuk Tuk.”
And yet, Misbah is a batsman who can clear the ropes almost at will. Indian fans will never forget his manic assault on Harbhajan Singh and Co. during the final of the ICC World T20 2007 that India won by the skin of their teeth.
In that match, he had grabbed Pakistan by the scruff and hauled them out from the jaws of defeat almost single-handedly. Misbah started waging his war long after the more illustrious warriors had been laid up. And they call him “Tuk Tuk.”
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Misbah is actually a batsman who loves to take on the spinners. He is blessed with a long reach, which he uses to good effect to take the spin and seam of the opposition bowler out of the equation. That aside, he has the ability to pick up the length of a ball early, and sets himself up to play an almighty heave that invariably goes a long, long way.
And they call him “Tuk Tuk.”
Misbah has played 151 ODIs and 50 Tests in his career so far. His strike rate in ODIs is a mere 73.7, but he has an average of 43.07 to go with it. In a team full of mavericks like Umar Akmal, Ahmed Shehzad, and Shahid Afridi, he has no choice but to play responsibly.
|
Format |
M |
Runs |
HS |
Ave |
SR |
100s |
50s |
6s |
|
ODIs |
151 |
4609 |
96* |
43.07 |
73.7 |
0 |
37 |
71 |
|
Tests |
50 |
3556 |
161* |
49.38 |
42.97 |
7 |
26 |
44 |
|
T20Is |
39 |
788 |
87* |
37.52 |
110.2 |
0 |
3 |
26 |
Perhaps if someone like Younis Khan were in the team, Misbah could afford to use his incredibly long handle more often. But he ends up fighting to keep Pakistan alive, so he can’t afford the luxury of hitting. And they call him “Tuk Tuk.”
But Misbah showed, finally, that when Pakistan are in a position of strength and and does not require his rescue efforts, he can play to his full devastating potential. The area from long-off to mid-wicket was peppered with sixes, the off side was decorated with boundaries, and the hundred was brought up with a delightful attempted hoick that took the outside edge to third man. Misbah — slow, boring, painful, unattractive, and dull — had scored the fastest Test century of all time. He showed, with élan, that they were wrong, all of them. “Tuk Tuk?” More like “Bang Bang!”
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(Shiamak Unwalla, a reporter with CricketCountry, is a self-confessed Sci-Fi geek and Cricket fanatic. You can follow him on Twitter @ShiamakUnwalla)
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