Misbah's Pakistan or Imran's Pakistan?

With victory in the first Test against New Zealand in Abu Dhabi, Misbah-ul-Haq became the winningest captain for Pakistan in Tests - that was his 15th triumph, which took him past Imran Khan and Javed Miandad's mark of 14 each. While Imran led in 48 Tests and achieved 14 wins, Miandad was captain in 34. Misbah, though, has needed only 32 Tests to win 15, which means his win percentage is better than that of the other two, though Miandad lost only six Tests to Misbah's nine, which means the win-loss ratio is more impressive for Miandad.

Both Imran and Miandad led Pakistan through a phenomenal period in the 1980s and early 1990s, when Pakistan consistently challenged all the top teams in all conditions. Unlike those two, who swapped captaincy duties over a 12-year period, Misbah has had a more settled stint at the top, leading Pakistan in 32 Tests in just four years. Miandad's 34 Tests as captain, on the other hand, stretched almost 13 years, from February 1980 to January 1993. Imran captained in 48 Tests (excluding an abandoned game) over a ten-year period, which works out to an average of only four Tests a year. Misbah has had a more settled run, and while Pakistan haven't necessarily been consistent during his four years as leader, they've racked up some great results recently, winning three in a row against Australia and New Zealand.

While Imran and Miandad straddled the 1980s, and the Misbah era started in 2010, the 1990s and the 2000s also had a dominant leader in each decade: Wasim Akram led 25 times in the 1990s, achieving a 12-8 win-loss record, while Inzamam-ul-Haq was dominant in the 2000s, captaining in 31 Tests and achieving a 11-11 record. During the Akram period, the captaincy musical chairs involved Waqar Younis, who achieved a 10-7 record in 17 Tests; Pakistan didn't draw a single Test when he was captain.

Over the last four years, Misbah has captained in 13 Test series (excluding the one-off Test against Zimbabwe, and the ongoing series against New Zealand), and Pakistan have lost only twice when he has led through the entire series - in South Africa in 2013, and in Sri Lanka earlier this year. (Misbah also captained in two out of three Tests in Sri Lanka in 2012, but Pakistan drew those and lost the only Test when he didn't lead.) They've drawn five series and won five, including series whitewashes against England and Australia.

However, while the overall numbers are impressive, under Misbah Pakistan have achieved most of their successes when playing in the UAE: in 16 Tests there, Pakistan have won nine and lost two - against South Africa and Sri Lanka. Add two more wins each in Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, and it emerges that Pakistan haven't won a whole lot in other countries, when conditions are more seam-friendly and aren't so favourable for batting.

In Tests played outside the UAE, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, Misbah's Pakistan have a 2-6 win-loss record, with one victory each in New Zealand and the West Indies. Apart from those results, they've lost three out of three in South Africa, and two out of four in Sri Lanka.

In more favourable conditions Misbah's team have been a formidable opponent for the even the best teams in the world, but in more unfamiliar conditions they haven't been as good as some of the other Pakistan teams of the past. Under Imran, Pakistan had a 5-6 win-loss record outside home, with wins in England, West Indies and India. The 1-0 series win in India was one of the highlights, but undoubtedly the biggest achievement of that Pakistan team was the number of riveting series they had against West Indies, who were undoubtedly the best team of that era. Twice in Pakistan - in 1986-87, and in 1990-91 - the two teams played out a 1-1 draw, while the series in the West Indies in 1987-88 also had the same scoreline.

It's also noticeable that in the period when Imran was captain, Pakistan played many more matches and series outside the comforts of their home environ. Imran always wanted to mould his team into one which would be champions under all conditions, and in that period they were a formidable, all-round team in different conditions, next only to West Indies.

In the period when Miandad was captain, Pakistan again played plenty in home conditions. However, they still did fairly well overseas, beating England 2-1 in 1992.

In home conditions, all three of those captains have impressive records. In the UAE and Bangladesh, Misbah's Pakistan have an impressive 11-2 win-loss record, and have beaten most of the top teams there. Even without the services of Saeed Ajmal, they thrashed Australia 2-0 and won the first Test of the three-match series against New Zealand. And when Ajmal was available, they destroyed England 3-0 in 2012.

Compared to the home numbers, the glaring difference in the away stats is in the batting averages. There's little to choose between the bowling averages home and away, but the batting average drops from 43.72 in the UAE and Bangladesh, to 29.98 when they play in other countries (excluding Zimbabwe). The recent two-Test series against Australia was marked by some huge scores by Pakistan's top order - there were nine centuries in two games - but overseas the batsmen have failed to achieve the same consistency, though the bowlers have achieved similar results.

Misbah's team is on an incredible run and have notched up some superb results, but in terms of overall results and consistency, they're still some way from Imran's team of the 1980s and early 1990s.