Pakistan’s performance in this Galle test match confirms an astonishing resurgence after three test series defeats. After the pummeling they received down under they were well beaten by Sri Lanka and then narrowly lost to the West Indies.

However in the space of a few weeks, a fractured and disunited team has been replaced by one that oozes confidence in everything that it does. The players now all sing the same song and sing it very well indeed. Much of the credit for the transformation lies with Javed Miandad who returned as coach in the West Indies.

The last time he was coach he also achieved much success but controversially resigned after being unhappy with some events in the dressing room. The players speak about him with the highest regard, pointing towards his ability to motivate the players.

After the conclusion of the third days play CricInfo asked him how he felt about the performance of his team: “ I am delighted, as I am sure everybody would be after seeing that kind of performance by his team.”

Asked whether he expected his side to be so dominant in this match he was adamant: “Yes of course because I have faith in my players and all my batsmen are working hard. Because we are already one up in the series the approach was really different in this match. The way they have played I am really proud of them. Everyone has performed here, the whole team, we are playing with unity, faith and confidence. Everything is there.”

Talking about the transformation since the last series in Pakistan; “You can see the performance. The performance always speaks for itself, you can see the way they played in Pakistan and now you can see the opposite in Sri Lanka. I think my team is dominating in every part.”

When the side is performing well then the coach and captain clearly deserve credit for they most certainly take the blame when things are not going well. However every coach needs his key players to perform. Javed Miandad has benefited from the world class performance of Wasim Akram.

“You can say anything about the way that he has been playing for the whole tour. He started from Sharjah, then the West Indies and now in Sri Lanka. You look at the way Inzamann, Youhana and Wasim are playing and you the reason for our success is right in front of you.”

But is Javed now not disappointed to have omitted Mustaq Ahmed from the side with the pitch beginning to turn: “Not really because what I believe is whatever we have done was positive and if something happened, then that comes afterwards. There is no point saying we should have done this or that. If you look at the way Azhar Mahmood bowled in the first innings you can see that he was the best choice.”

And what is going to happen in this match now: “I have confidence and faith and I am sure that the team will do well”

© CricInfo