An amazing turn around from the crisis that seemed to have shackled the Pakistan team. Shahid Afridi and Ahmed Shehzad's batting set the scene and once those runs were on the board, there was always going to be one winner. Pakistan now look to the final 2 ODIs in Abu Dhabi to stamp their authority on this ODI series and will have to show their doubters that this victory of 147 runs, like others in the past, is not just another flash in the pan.

Since the sad events of 2009 when the Sri Lanka cricketers were the last visitors to play in Pakistan, there has been no international cricket possible in Pakistan due to security reasons. Since that time, Pakistan have been forced to play their ‘home’ games at offshore venues such as England and more recently, the UAE. 

As Pakistan enjoy a period of relative success in their overall standing in the game, Waqar Younis spoke to PakPassion.net about his latest association with the Pakistan team, his impressions of Rahat Ali, the state of Pakistan’s fast bowling resources, and also looked forward to the 2015 World Cup.

A wonderful and memorable victory which finally stopped the rot as far as Pakistan's recent ODI loss record is concerned. It also allowed Haris Sohail to live up to his potential and showed a new side of Shahid Afridi. However, questions of selection for this team will linger. Both Younis Khan and Asad Shafiq came into this game with a very ordinary reputation in the ODI format and nothing that we saw today would have changed that impression. The pressure to change the team for the 2nd ODI in Sharjah on the 12th of December will be immense on Misbah, but will he oblige?

The result of the series provides some solace for the selectors as they look towards the future of the Pakistan LOI teams with some new comers such as Saad Nasim, Haris Sohail, Raza Hasan showing some promise as is the return of Mohammad Irfan to the international scene. However, the usual frailties in the batting department remain a source of worry and something which the selectors will pay more attention to during the 5 match ODI series against the same opponents starting on the 8th of December at the DSC.

All in all a clicnical performance by Pakistan and it was indeed great to see Mohammad Irfan and Raza Hasan back in Pakistan colors. However, the real test may come in the 2nd T20I where Pakistan could lose toss and bat first at the same venue. How they cope with that situation is yet to be seen but for the moment, Shahid Afridi and men will rest easy with a win under their belts.

In his latest blog on PakPassion.net, renowned pace bowling coach Ian Pont writes about the benefits derived from the The Ultimate Pace Foundation camp that he runs in India and also speaks about his impressions of the talent on offer at this camp.

Former Pakistan great, Javed Miandad spoke exclusively to PakPassion.net about his views on the recently concluded Test series between Pakistan and Australia and subsequently, against New Zealand and also reflected upon the issues surrounding the tragic death of Australian batsman Phil Hughes.

So came to an end, a match which will be known for one of the best Test innings witnessed but one that happened under the shadow of the tragic events surrounding the passing away of Australian batsman, Phil Hughes. For Pakistan, this match also served a stark reminder that despite their successes against Australia in the earlier Test series, precious little has been done to fix their batting woes. It is yet to be seen what effect this pummeling will have on the outcome of the LOI series as the squad for that format will be different but unquestionably, New Zealand spirits will be at an all-time high as they take on Pakistan in the first of 2 T20Is starting in Dubai on 4th December.