Pakistan leg-spinner Danish Kaneria said that his hard-earned five-wicket haul in the second Test against a Brian Lara-inspired West Indies team was down to the faith that his captain Inzamam-ul-Haq had in his bowling.
Kaneria took 5 for 181 from 41 overs of hard toil on an unresponsive Multan pitch, though he was rewarded for his perseverance with the wicket of Lara after his blazing innings of 216.
"The skipper gave me lots of confidence on the field and off the field and has been praising me in the media so that was a great feeling and gave me a boost to keep on trying hard for my team-mates and my country," Kaneria said on his official website www.bigstarcricket.com.
Kaneria, who has publicly said in the past that Lara is the best batsman he has bowled to, said that the West Indies left-hander played so well that he thought he might even go on and score another 300 or 400.
However, he maintains that he never stopped believing he could take his wicket and part of that confidence was instilled in him by Inzamam.
"His support will, no doubt, be important again when we get to Karachi for the final Test. Inzamam was saying things like 'You are the best' and 'You can take their wickets' and when you hear a great player like the skipper saying those things to you, it makes a big difference to your confidence.
"Lara is such a fantastic player and with the way the pitch was playing I thought he might even go on to get 300 or 400, which he has shown he can do in previous years. It's very difficult to gain any control over a player like him, especially when he reads the spinner's hand so well. But I never lost confidence in my abilities and I always believed I could get him out, and the captain did too which meant a lot to me. By the grace of God, I did manage it in the end even if he did score over 200.
Kaneria came in for special treatment from Lara as he thrashed him all over the park, including 26 runs off a single over.
"I know he took 26 off one of my overs but it's certainly not an embarrassment to me for a player like him to do it, and on that pitch. It's all part of the learning experience and I am well aware that he has treated great spinners like Shane Warne and [Muttiah] Muralitharan the same way so I am not going to start getting down about this match. I had to work very hard for those five wickets."
