Inzamam proud of team spirit

Reactions are never to expected from Inzamam-ul-Haq, and after leading his side to a nine-wicket win, Pakistan's fourth in their last seven home Tests, few were apparent on Inzamam's face. Each win is equal, just some more than others and this was a much-needed one after two months where they have only lost three international matches but, really, taken an almighty battering away from the field.

Impassively, Inzamam greeted the win. "Yes, after all that has happened, the boys were a bit down and this could have been difficult," he told reporters. "Their confidence was down but they worked hard, believed in themselves and did well with both bat and ball. We're just hoping to continue like this now."

One of the many fall-outs from the autumn was the loss of Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif, leading to suggestions that there was something decidedly second-string about the side which took the field. But as expected from a captain used to playing without key players through his tenure, Inzamam was adamant that this was the best team. "This is not a second-string squad. These are the 15 best players we have in Pakistan.

"We do miss big names like Shoaib and Asif; anyone would. But we are used to it and we can win without them and that is a good thing. Obviously, our chances of winning improve with them in the side but this is still a good side."

Indeed, the attack was capable enough to bowl out a strong batting line-up twice, in just over 150 overs of two innings, Umar Gul and Shahid Nazir doing the bulk of the damage. "The confidence we have put in them both has paid off and they bowled extremely well through the match. They got help from the wicket but they still had to do the job."

With what is becoming an increasingly regular occurrence before most series Pakistan are involved in, Danish Kaneria's role was touted as the key one here. He might not have succeeded to the extent that the tourists' supposed traditional weakness against leg-spin suggested, but three wickets wasn't a bad few days' work. The rewards, Inzamam said, could have been greater. "He bowled very well and I think he was desperately unlucky. He picked up important wickets in the first innings and in the second he was very good, just not very lucky."

As questions dried up at the press conference, one journalist asked, in a unique twist to the norm, what lessons Pakistan would learn from the victory. Momentarily flummoxed, Inzamam paused, looked around, and to knowing sniggers, asked "What shall I say?"

When prompted, he highlighted, as ever, the fielding. "We dropped catches and though we can always improve in all departments we need to improve our fielding most." He will hope to improve his own score from this Test as well. Asked how he felt about his eight-ball duck, he answered majestically, and to much laughter, "Even I can perform badly sometimes." As dry as ever and thus most definitely back.