Karachi Firing Squad

I don't think too many teams will have escaped from 39-6 in the opening hour of a Test match to secure a 341-run win inside four days. I am proud that I have been part of such a never-say-die outfit, that too for the second time. Shahid Afridi, Mohammed Yousuf and I were at the Eden Gardens back in '99 when we pulled the rabbit out of the hat after being 26-6 on the first day. Wicketkeeper Moin Khan gave our score some respectability then and it was his successor Kamran Akmal's turn to play a super counter-attacking innings now.

Honestly, with the series hinging on the showing of the final innings, the difference between the two teams boiled down to who was more physically and mentally fresh. We scored significantly there. It worked in our favour that the Indian bowlers were weary from the heavy workload at Lahore and Faisalabad. On the contrary, we were relatively fresh and able to give our best. It was critical, on a track that was just a shade more sporting than what we'd got earlier.

The Indian bowlers had a fantastic start to the Test when the ball did a bit off a good length but once the wicket eased up, they did not quite alter their length of attack. It was fun watching Kamran drive the bowlers repeatedly between point and cover. He played a gem of an innings under pressure but the Indians did not use their shoulders as much as we do. The manner in which we hit the deck helped us produce more lift and a more pronounced seam movement. The Indians appeared to be trying to get the ball to move off a good length, but our batsmen handled that really well in the second innings, having learnt from the mistakes of the first. Our bowlers hit the deck and caused the ball to lift off the pitch. The pitch had something, especially for me, for those who were prepared to run in hard and bend their backs.

After being bowled out for 245, we knew that we had to give of our best to win the Test. Mohammed Asif got us rolling with the big wicket of Rahul Dravid in the fourth over and there was no looking back, even if the lower half of the Indian line-up showed some grit. Salman Butt and Imran Farhat saw off the threat of the new ball, and after that all the following batsmen helped themselves to a half-century each to make cricket history. It's the first time that the top seven batsmen have all hit 50s in the same innings. Young Faisal Iqbal even carved out a fine century, making the Indians wonder if Javed Miandad had come back to haunt them at the crease.

We expected the Indians to fight to save the Test match when we gave ourselves close to five-and-a-half sessions to bowl them out a second time. But the new ball did the trick for us—we picked up four wickets before 16 overs were gone. Getting the wicket of Dravid in the first over of the second innings was a terrific feeling. He is so capable of playing those long innings and can frustrate the bowlers with his classical approach. I can't tell you how pleased I was to have given Pakistan the breakthrough.

There was one attempt to distract my focus from the match. The Indian coach Greg Chappell and some former Pakistan players appear to have sought to make an issue of my bowling action in the Indian media. I want these gentlemen, especially the former players whose contribution to Pakistan cricket I respect, to remember that in flogging a dead horse they are challenging the icc's wisdom and the findings of three universities in the US, UK and Australia, not to speak of my rights as a human being. I have been put through the scanner three times and I have been cleared every time. I don't know why the question has been raised by former players, especially since the umpires and the match referee in the three Tests have not said a word about my bowling action. I would be lying if I didn't say I was disappointed with our former players.

For all that, I can't tell you enough how pleased we all are for Inzamam-ul-Haq and Younis Khan who led us to this cherished victory. A second series win at home this season after we beat England. The one-day series begins in a few days and while we are looking forward to winning that as well, we will savour our win now. We celebrated through Wednesday night and crashed into our beds only in the wee hours of Thursday.