Pakistan captain Misbah-ul Haq has ranked his team’s 221-run win in the first Test match against Australia yesterday alongside the 3-0 series win against England in 2012 in the UAE.

“It is difficult to rank this win, but it is one of our finest victories, especially in Test cricket,” Misbah said after Pakistan had taken a 1-0 lead in the two-match Test series.

Pakistan’s build-up to the Tests had been disastrous as they lost the sole Twenty20 International and the three-match one-day series 3-0 to Australia.

They were also laid low by top spinner Saeed Ajmal’s suspension owing to an illegal action and injuries to pacers Junaid Khan and Wahab Riaz. It meant they entered the Dubai game with four of their bowlers having a collective experience of just eight Tests.

But veteran Younis Khan led the batting charge scoring centuries in both innings and opener Ahmed Shehzad revelled with a fluent 131 as Pakistan set a daunting target of 438 for the Aussies to chase.

The spinners Zulfiqar Babar and debutant Yasir Shah rose to the occasion by sharing nine wickets between themselves as Australia were bowled out for 216 in the final session yesterday. Babar (7-155) and Shah (7-116) ended up claiming 14 wickets in the match.

Misbah believes the way team has fought the odds to record a win makes it special. “I always rank the 3-0 series win against England at the top but after that, this is a big achievement, for the team and for me as a captain.

“Of course, a victory against any side is always important. But in the context of how we were playing before the Test match, the last series against Sri Lanka, how we lost the ODIs and the Twenty20, and not having your regular players here due to injuries to our main fast bowlers, I think this is a wonderful achievement.”

Misbah also marked out man of the match Younis Khan for a special mention. “He is a legend for Pakistan. The performance he gave, his focus, his professional attitude, his discipline… he really is a true role model for the youngsters,” Misbah added.