Pakistan Test skipper Misbah-ul-Haq admitted on Monday that his side is under pressure to perform in the two-match Test series against Bangladesh after being humbled in limited over formats. Pakistan is seeking for a turnaround when they take on the Tigers in the opening Test match of the two-match series in Khulna today. ‘There is always a pressure in international cricket and obviously opposition is playing good and you have to be at your best,’ Misbah told reporters ahead of the game.
‘We are aware about them and we have to respect the opposition as they are good at their home conditions and are coming with the high confidence since World Cup,’ said Misbah.
Bangladesh are unbeaten in 12 matches in all formats at home including four wins against Pakistan in the current series. Misbah is hopeful they can put a brake on Tigers winning spree through their experience at Test match level.
‘Test side is quite experience with this combination has been consistently performing well for quite a long now,’ Misbah said. ‘It’s a different ball game and these players have a better understanding of Test cricket and everybody is in good shape and in best of his form,’ said Misbah.
Pakistan almost retained the same Test squad that beat Australia 2-0 and drew with New Zealand 1-1 in the United Arab Emirates before the World Cup. Misbah said the condition in Bangladesh should not be different.
‘The condition here is similar to Abu Dhabi and Dubai and we are hoping to carry on the form we have in the format,’ he said.
Misbah asked his charges to focus on their strength rather thinking too much of their failure so far in the series.
‘Apart from all the confidence they have, we have our focus on what we have. We are concentrating on basic which is the factor of success we had in the particular format.
‘It’s important for us to break the confidence of Bangladesh team and for this we have to play our best cricket,’ he said.
-With New Age input