Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson on Tuesday said getting away with a draw in the second Test in Kolkata was a big boost for the team.
"This is a big result for us today. This does lift our moral tremendously," he said at the Eden Gardens.
"We proved we were hard to bowl out and we are still in this series. We are feeling pretty good with where we are at right now as compared to two and half days ago when we were in a lot of trouble.
"When you escape from games like that you learn a lot and you gain a lot, mentally in particular. It is an achievement to get out with a draw, a highly great achievement," Lawson added.
The Australian stopped short of criticising the placid pitch dished out for this match, but said he was surprised that it was loaded so heavily in favour of the batsmen.
"I think we all expected the pitch to do a bit more on the fourth and fifth day. It was just the foot holes that did something and it did hang together quite well so that made batting a little bit easier on the fourth and fifth day. I think it surprised a lot of us that it was so good for batting on the last day," he said.
Lawson praised the team's character for the fightback they showed with the bat in both innings to thwart the hosts.
"I think character is exactly the right word. For much time on day three in this Test match we were in all sorts of trouble and the character of the three batsmen showed then and then again today. There are a few nerves if you lose a few wickets in a hurry but we showed a ton of character," he said.
"At 78 for 4, you know you had a lot of work to do but in our batting order we had a few down the order who had spent some time at the wicket in the first innings. So you can feel you can survive. And the two experienced players [Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf] batting in the middle, they did prove they were the two most experienced players.
"When you have people who have been in that situation before you always believe you can escape with a draw. You are obviously a bit nervous, but we felt that the pitch was still good enough for us to get through. Younis and Yousuf played like veterans and the highly talented players they are, it took a lot to get through but they were good enough," he added.
The Pakistan coach hoped that his team could repeat their showing of the last tour when they won the third Test in Bangalore to level the series.
"We are feeling that in the last Test match we can get something as Pakistan have done in the previous series. They had a win in Bangalore last time and they leveled the series. That's the belief in the dressing room because we had the courage and character to save this match," he said.
Lawson, who played 46 Tests and 79 ODIs for Australia, believes India's tour Down Under will be a tough one.
"Australia will be tough. Anybody touring Australia will find it tough because Australia is the best side for a lot of reasons. Playing on pitches like that will not prepare them for Australia. The pitches in Australia recently have been good batting pitches, they haven't helped the bowlers too much also so that might help the Indians. But the bounce will be different and you got to play a different sort of game," he said.
