Former greats shower accolades on Pakistan

Pakistan's outstanding win at Bangalore has come in for high praise from their former cricketers. Wasim Bari, Imran Khan and Sarfraz all lauded the team for the victory at Bangalore, which allowed Pakistan to come back and level the three-Test series 1-1.

"I think it won't be fair to single out any individual for the wonderful performance at Bangalore which enabled us to square the Test series," Bari, the chief selector, told The News. "Inzamam-ul-Haq led from the front and the entire team displayed tremendous fighting spirit in this particular game. Our team had been branded as a weak side at the start of the series, but the boys learnt their lessons quickly. They fought back so admirably and deserve all the credit for winning the third Test."

Bari also expected Pakistan to carry on its Test form in the forthcoming one-day series. "I am not predicting that we will win the series but I am confident that the hosts would be given a run for their money in the one-dayers. The Indians no doubt have a formidable one-day side but we have enough confidence to challenge them."

Sarfraz Nawaz, the former fast bowler bowler, also saluted the team. "They have shown that they have the talent and potential to take any team head-on," Sarfraz was quoted as saying by Press Trust of India. "The only thing that has been questioned has been the commitment and unity. But in this series, they showed that they are a well-knit unit. The victory is a perfect icing on what has been an excellent and consistent performance by them."

Inzamam, whose captaincy skills had come under scrutiny after the disastrous tour of Australia, received several accolades from Sarfraz. "I think Inzamam stood out as a better captain than Sourav Ganguly. He [Inzamam] performed well with the bat, led the team better than Ganguly and above all, made a bold and calculated declaration."

"Its a great win and all credit to the Pakistani team," Imran told AFP. "It is always difficult to come back in the series after [being] one down and all credit goes to Inzamam for leading from the front and that too in his 100th Test match."