New Zealand are not to be taken lightly, warns Misbah

ABU DHABI: Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq warned New Zealand are not to be taken lightly despite their low ranking.

"If you see the ranking then Australia are way above New Zealand but in international cricket rankings don´t play a major part.

"New Zealand is a kind of team that can really surprise you and one has to be aware of that. We have to be really focused against them because they can really give us a tough time," said Misbah, who will become Pakistan´s most successful captain with 15 victories if he wins the match. He currently has 14 Test wins along with Imran Khan and Javed Miandad.

"We just can´t take them lightly and we will have to play good cricket against them to win," he added.

"We don´t want to be reluctant and lazy against New Zealand. We want to be focused and just do our basics right and try to play like we did against Australia."

Pakistan are likely to retain the same XI which won the second Test by 356 runs against Australia at the same venue. (AFP)