Misbah-ul-Haq to be presented with Test mace at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore
The historical Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore will play host to one of the biggest moments to have transpired in Pakistan Cricket in the recent past. Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistan's Test captain will be presented with the Test mace at the historical venue. The CEO of the ICC Dave Richardson will make the presentation. This will formally proclaim Pakistan as the number one team in Test cricket.
The charismatic Misbah led his side to a 2-2 stalemate against England in the recently concluded Test series and in the process stamped their authority all over the Test rankings. This was also the very first time Pakistan lead the table in the longest version of the game.
Pakistan had enough points to edge ahead of India, who slipped down to number 2 after their match against West Indies had to be called off due to wet outfield. They were also helped by Sri Lanka who smashed the Australians 3-0 at home.
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After the historical feat, Misbah said that bigger challenges await the team and now they have to make all efforts to consolidate their position at the top of the table.
"It is a huge achievement to be at top of the world. It is just like winning a World Cup for your team, therefore everyone in the team wanted to touch the summit no matter whether it was for a day or a week or a month. The number one tag was in the minds of all the players and it motivated us a lot," Misbah wrote on Cricket Australia's (CA) website.
"The challenge now is to maintain our ranking and for that we will have to do well in the upcoming series against West Indies, New Zealand and Australia. The tours to New Zealand and Australia will be difficult," he added.
The 42-year old was in impressive form in the series and scored a valiant century at Lords to set the tone for the rest of the series. His team then came back from behind to win the final Test at the oval and thus squared the series 2-2.