Pakistan head coach Misbah Ul Haq stressed on the "commitment and belief" his team possesses and backed those virtues to come to the fore, as visitors strive to win the third and final Test in order to maintain their streak of not losing a series in England since the end of the 2010 trip. 

Down 1-0 after the bitter defeat in Manchester, Pakistan got bundled out for just 236 in the first innings of the rain-marred drawn encounter in Southampton where bad weather and improper visibility meant that just 134.3 overs of play was possible. 

Read Also: Waqar Younis bats for greater flexibility from match officials regarding bad light

While not many are giving Pakistan the chance to come out unscathed from the series' point of view at the same venue in the third Test, Misbah believes there is enough promise and ability in the ranks to not lose hope.

"It was always going to be difficult to fight back after what happened in Manchester but the players' commitment and belief was outstanding," he wrote in a column for the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). "We have the belief that we can come back in the final Test and it's so important to us that Pakistan supporters back home and around the world share that belief with us."

Misbah said captain Azhar Ali's decision to bat first in overcast conditions was quite "brave" and lauded his pacers for not letting the missed opportunity on Day 4 at Old Trafford get to their heads, as was evident during the 43.1 overs that England batted to make 110/4 (declared). 

"It was another brave decision to bat first in the second Test given the conditions but everybody took on the challenge. Overall I'm really happy with the way the team batted. Everybody just tried to hang in and score runs."

"The partnerships involving Abid Ali, Azhar Ali and Babar Azam at the top of the order were really pleasing and encouraging, in testing conditions."

"We expected the pitch to deteriorate towards the end of the match and it did. Even with just a couple of hours of sun at the end of the match, Yasir Shah was able to challenge the England batsmen."

"The seamers also bowled really well and I was really happy with the way we finished the match. That last session, even as the game drifted towards a draw, gives us a lot of confidence going into the last Test."

Opener Abid Ali (60) and Babar Azam (47) fought well when Pakistan batted, but it was the resolve shown by wicketkeeper batsman Mohammad Rizwan (72) that Misbah reserved special praise for. 

"Rizwan fought really hard so that we, at least, had a decent score to put a little bit of pressure on England. He showed glimpses in the first Test, when his wicketkeeping was also wonderful, and against Australia in Brisbane last November."

"Rizwan has great game awareness and we're really happy with the way he's performing. It's important that players, especially the new ones, show they can perform under pressure and his innings in Southampton will give him a lot of confidence."

Misbah also weighed in over the suggestive usage of the pink ball to tackle the bad light interruptions in the Test match game. 

"There has been a lot of discussion about the way bad light affected this Test," he wrote. "In these unusual circumstances, there is room to debate these issues but the pink ball is very different to the red ball and I'm not sure that using it for a whole match - in daylight - is a good idea."

"I think most people prefer to see Test cricket played in the conventional way, which means with a red ball - that's the beauty of the game," Misbah signed off.