Misbah-ul-Haq

Misbah-ul-Haq

مصباح الحق خان نیازی

Personal information
Full name	Misbah-ul-Haq Khan Niazi
Born	28 May 1974 (1974-05-28) (age 35) Mianwali, Pakistan
Batting style	Right-hand batsman
Bowling style	Right arm leg break
Role	Batsman
International information
National side	Pakistan
Test debut (cap 166)	8 March 2001 v New Zealand
Last Test	20 July 2009 v Sri Lanka
ODI debut (cap 142)	27 April 2002 v New Zealand
Last ODI	9 August 2009 v Sri Lanka
Domestic team information
Years	Team
2008–present	Baluchistan
2006–2008	Punjab (Pakistan)
2003–2007	Faisalabad
2003–present	Sui Northern Gas Pipelines
2000–2003	Khan Research Laboratories
1998–2001	Sargodha
Career statistics
Competition	Test	ODI	FC	LA
Matches	15	54	144	156
Runs scored	871	1,476	10,529	5,171
Batting average	37.86	39.89	50.86	46.16
100s/50s	2/3	0/9	31/50	8/31
Top score	161**	79**	247*	129**
Balls bowled	–	24	318	144
Wickets	–	0	3	1
Bowling average	–	–	80.66	179.00
5 wickets in innings	–	0	0	0
10 wickets in match	–	n/a	0	n/a
Best bowling	–	0/30	1/2	1/10
Catches/stumpings	18/–	31/–	137/–	80/–
Source: CricketArchive, 15 August 2009

Misbah-ul-Haq Khan Niazi (Urdu: مصباح الحق خان نیازی), born May 28, 1974) is a Pakistani cricketer. Misbah is known for his cool headed batting especially under pressure.

Contents [hide] 1 Early career 2 Comeback 3 Outside cricket 4 Test centuries 5 T20 International 50's 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Early career

Misbah was initially noticed for his technique and his temperament in the Tri-nation tournament in Nairobi, Kenya in 2002, as he scored two fifties in the three innings in which he played, however, over the next three Tests he played against Australia, he failed to score more than twenty runs and was soon dumped from the team. Having witnessed Pakistan being eliminated in the opening phase of the 2003 Cricket World Cup, Misbah was part of the changes made to the team in the aftermath of these results, but failed to make much of an impact and was soon dropped again.

[edit] Comeback

At the age of 33, Misbah was chosen to play in the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 in 2007, filling the middle order spot vacated by Inzamam-ul-Haq. He had been regularly making runs in Pakistani domestic cricket and in the years before his recall he was consistently one of the top run scorers at each season's end, with his first-class average briefly climbing above 50.

Misbah was one of the stars of the tournament, playing a large part in many thrilling run chases. The first was in the group stage against India where he scored a half century in a tied match. He was run out attempting the winning run off the last ball of the match. In their Super 8s encounter with Australia he was named Man of the Match with an unbeaten 66 off 42 deliveries to see his side home with 5 balls to spare. Another unbeaten innings in the semi final against New Zealand saw Pakistan book a spot in the final against India.

He played an instrumental role in Pakistan's recovery in the inaugural 2007 ICC World Twenty20 final against arch-rivals India, with 3 consecutive sixes. The sixes came off Harbhajan Singh's last over of the match. With 6 runs needed to win off 4 remaining balls, Misbah tried to scoop the ball over short fine leg, but was caught out by Sreesanth.

Misbah scored his maiden Test hundred against India at Kolkata in the 2nd Test of the 2007 series. After India managed 616 in their first innings, Pakistan were at 5 for 150 in reply and in danger of following on when Misbah and Kamran Akmal put together a match saving 207 run stand. Misbah finished on 161 not out. In the 3rd & final Test of the series, Misbah made another fluent century this time finishing on 133 not out.

2008 began with some high points for Misbah as he was elevated to the post of Vice - Captain of the Pakistan team and was awarded a Grade A Contract. Since returning to International Cricket for Pakistan, Misbah has gone through a sustained patch of prolific run scoring. In his last 5 Test Match innings for Pakistan, he has notched up 458 runs at a very high batting average of 152.67 against India.In his last 5 ODIs as well, Misbah has made 190 Runs at an average of 63.33 & in Domestic Cricket for Punjab, he has amassed an astounding 586 runs at an average of 195.33 with 2 centuries and his highest first-class score of 208*.

[edit] Outside cricket

Misbah has done an MBA from the University of Management & Technology, Lahore.

[edit] Test centuries

The following table illustrates a summary of the Test centuries scored by Misbah-ul-Haq.^[1]

• In the column Runs, * indicates being not out.
• The column title Match refers to the Match Number of his career.

Test Centuries of Misbah-ul-Haq
#	Runs	Match	Against	City/Country	Venue	Year
[1]	161*	9	India	Kolkata, India	Eden Gardens	2007
[2]	133*	10	India	Bangalore, India	M. Chinnaswamy Stadium	2007

[edit] T20 International 50's

Mt.	Runs	Balls	S/R	4's	6's	Dismissal	Against	City/Country	Venue	Season	T20I#
4	53	35	151.42	7	1	Run out	India	Durban, South Africa	Kingsmead	2007	T20# 29
6	66*	42	157.14	7	1	Not out	Australia	Johannesburg, South Africa	The Wanderers	2007	T20I# 37
10	87*	53	164.15	3	5	Not out	Bangladesh	Karachi, Pakistan	National Stadium	2008	T20I# 55