Pakistan v Australia, 2014-15

At Abu Dhabi, October 30-November 3, 2014. Pakistan won by 356 runs. Toss: Pakistan.
Four years earlier, when Misbah-ul-Haq took over as Pakistan's captain, the administrators admitted they had no one left to turn to. He was not even in the side at the time, and was 36. It was a punt born of desperation. After this victory sealed a first series win over Australia for 20 years, Misbah stood equal with Pakistan's most successful Test captains, Imran Khan and Javed Miandad, on 14 wins. And he could now boast the joint-fastest Test century (by balls) in history, drawing level with Viv Richards. Misbah has not so much forged a career as stitched together a succession of Hitchcockian twists. Each has been more improbable than the last, though even Misbah will find it difficult to outdo his contribution here, in his 50th Test. Who, frankly, would have thought it?

A large part of the continuing antipathy towards him within Pakistan comes from his batting style. Popular culture has anointed it "tuk-tuk", which is intended to reflect his slow scoring through the aural effect of his forward defensive - ball dying on hitting bat, "tuk", and then "tuk" again. The slow speeds of the real tuk-tuk - Asia's omnipresent auto-rickshaw - embellish the analogy.

Like Hanif Mohammad, Pakistan's most famous Test batsman, Misbah has always insisted he was naturally more attacking, but forced by circumstances towards caution. In Abu Dhabi he proved this was true twice over, first with a swift (by his standards) 166-ball hundred, then with a sanity-crushing one in the second. After zooming to fifty from 21 deliveries - the fastest in Tests - he reached three figures in just 56, with 11 fours and five sixes; four of the sixes came off Smith, whose leg-breaks disappeared for 38 in 11 balls. Nobody would have pegged Misbah as the man to equal Richards's blast against England in Antigua in 1985-86. He overshadowed everything else, including Younis Khan's double-century in the first innings and Azhar Ali's own twin hundreds.

By hitting two hundreds himself, Misbah became the first captain to do so against Australia; and it was only the second time two batsmen from one team had scored two in a Test, after the Chappell brothers against New Zealand at Wellington in 1973-74. That series also contained the previous instance of anyone scoring two hundreds in a match against Australia; now, more than 40 years later, three Pakistanis had done it in two Tests (and Virat Kohli would follow suit for India in December). As crazy as Misbah's innings was, so too was the stream of records Pakistan broke in a batting bounty unlike almost any in their history.

Australia were abysmal, a far cry from the all-conquering side of the previous 12 months. Their batsmen struggled on a slow, low pitch, uncertain of feet and hard of hand, and their bowlers managed just nine wickets. Where Pakistan coaxed both spin and reverse swing, Australia managed little of either. Lyon bowled well in patches, but never for long, or with adequate support. Clarke, who had a poor tour, admitted sombrely that his team had not improved in these conditions from their 4-0 defeat in India in 2012-13.

The only bright spots for his ragged side came in the form of Smith's 97, the most assured Australian innings against spin on the entire tour, while Marsh's 87 in his second Test bulged with promise. But neither was anywhere near enough to avoid another thumping defeat - Pakistan's biggest victory by runs in any Test - and a 2-0 whitewash.
Man of the Match: Misbah-ul-Haq. Man of the Series: Younis Khan.