This article was first published 20 years ago

I am not an angel, says Shoaib

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April 08, 2004 17:05 IST

After bowling one of his fiery spells to bowl Pakistan to a stunning nine-wicket victory over India in the second Test in Lahore on Thursday, express fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar said he was 'not an angel' and 'still learning day by day.'

"I am not an angel, I have my bad days and good days. I am still learning day by day," said Akhtar who bowled consistently above 90 mph mark to capture three wickets for 62 runs and break the back of Indian batting for a series levelling win at the Gaddafi Stadium.

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The Rawalpindi Express first picked the crucial wicket of  the dangerous Virender Sehwag and then, in a display of  top class fast bowling, peppered the young Irfan Pathan with a series of short pitched deliveries before having him caught in the second slip with a snorter.

Akhtar was happy he found the rhythm that was lacking until now in the series and said the strategy was to bowl in short bursts at top speed.

"The idea was to just bowl at the right areas and bowl in short bursts of three-four overs.

"I was running-in and steaming-in, I got the rhythm going and we did not give away many runs in the beginning.

"It has been a tough series. The series is in our hands now," he said.

On the Gaddafi pitch, Akhtar said, "we want a hard and dry pitch when Mohammad Sami and I could get some reverse swing."

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