NEW DELHI, FEB 7: Mohammad Azharuddin would not have expected a better gift on the eve of his 36th birthday (February 8). A victory over Pakistan by 212 runs in the Delhi Test to square the two-match series was the ``just result'' he could have expected after the dramatic 12-run loss at Chennai. Anil Kumble chose the right moment to present his skipper with his 10-wicket haul in Pakistan's second essay.``This is undoubtedly one of the best bowling performances I have ever seen in my career,'' Azharuddin said in praise of his strike bowler. ``Even when Pakistan were coasting along at 90 without loss at lunch, we were never under any pressure,'' the skipper added.Stressing the importance of Kumble's bowling today, Azharuddin said: ``With his very high bowling action, Kumble was able to bounce the ball and make it jump. Of late, he has been able to develop the googly and the flipper and knows his strong points and sticks to them. He kept his line and didn't experiment much. He made intelligent use of hisstrength. To be the second man to claim 10 wickets is superb,'' he said, summing up the memorable performance.The Indian skipper said he had no special plan to change Kumble's end (from Delhi Gate to Pavilion). ``Anyway, he would have got all the wickets from either end,'' he said with a smile.While praising the leg-spinner for his stupendous and outstanding bowling effort, Azharuddin spoke of the batting performances of S Ramesh, Rahul Dravid, Saurav Ganguly and J Srinath ``which really paved the way for the team's big win in the end.''``The Ganguly-Srinath stand became very effective in the end,'' he pointed out. ``I could not digest the loss in Chennai. I would not have minded if we had lost by 150 runs but losing after coming so close was disappointing. The boys today showed the inclination to play hard.''Azharuddin also congratulated Pakistan on their performance, for coming to play in India despite the initial threats and said it has been a good series for both teams. ``We had two Tests andboth had results. One cannot ask for more. More such series would do good for both teams,'' he said.Pakistan captain Wasim Akram said the toss played a crucial role in the match but added that the Indian team came up with a better performance.``It has been a great series, on part of cricket and on part of the crowd which has been wonderful.''Asked what he felt about his team's chances after India set an imposing 420-run target, the Pakistan captain said his team wanted to stick in there and play well. He congratulated Kumble for his brilliant show and said 10 wickets is not an easy matter. ``I would love to have them myself,'' he said.Akram said his team had a good series despite the problems at the start. ``We did not have a very good last year but this series has been very good.''
