Lahore:World\u2019s fastest bowler Shoaib Akhtar on Sunday revealed that current Pakistan chief selector Inzamamul Haq was the most difficult batsman to get out in his opinion.
\n\u201cThere were a lot of players in the world [whom I found difficult to get out] but the most difficult, whom I couldn\u2019t even get out in the nets, was Inzama,\u201d said Akhtar in the Wasim Akram-hosted show The Sportsman.
\nBrett Lee relives experience of facing Shoaib Akhtar
\n\u201cI think there was no other player who played me better than him. His footwork was quick, he would place himself and be ready to play. He could see the ball earlier than many. I always thought he had an extra second. However fast I bowl, he had placed himself where the ball would land,\u201d he added.
\nPakistan toured India in 1999 to play a two-match Test series and one-off match of the Asian Test Championship.
\nAkhtar got his chance in the third match. He bagged eight wickets in that Test, four in each innings, with the highlight being the pacer dismissing Rahul David and Sachin Tendulkar on consecutive deliveries.
\nShoaib Akhtar scraps party animal tag
\n\u201cYou [Wasim, the then captain] gave me the ball after lunch and you were telling me to do this and that,\u201d Akhtar reminisced. \u201cThen you became quiet for some time and I thought to myself that I should open up and bowl a quicker one to Dravid. When Dravid was bowled, then I realised that Sachin is coming. I realised that he didn\u2019t walk in while watching the shine on the ball.\u201d
\nHe continued: \u201cI turned from my mark to bowl and you shouted, \u2018O Shabi, pura told k lana andar ta k leg stump miss na ho\u2019 (Shoaib, swing it in calculatedly so it doesn\u2019t miss the leg stump). I turned again and I stopped and said to myself, Ya Allah, if I get this wicket, my dream will be fulfilled in Kolkatta.\u201d
\n\u201cI ran in and as I was approaching the crease, I saw that the gap between Sachin\u2019s bat and his pads was opening. And then when I bowled outside off-stump, I knew he would miss it. As soon as it hit the middle stump, it was an amazing moment for me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Lahore:World\u2019s fastest bowler Shoaib Akhtar on Sunday revealed that current Pakistan chief selector Inzamamul Haq was the most difficult batsman to get out in his opinion. \u201cThere were a lot of players in the world [whom I found difficult to get out] but the most difficult, whom I couldn\u2019t even get out in the nets, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2343","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n