February 1, 2006	Wednesday	Muharram 2, 1427

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KARACHI, Jan 31: A street-smart cricketer like his maternal uncle Javed Miandad, Faisal Iqbal, was naturally satisfied at his rehabilitation at Test level after surpassing his previous best score of 83, which was against an Australian attack that included Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath in the offshore series Test at Colombo in October 2002.

“Of course, I was under pressure today after making a comeback and having failed in the first innings.

“But I was confident of making big runs in the second innings on the back of eight centuries in domestic cricket this season,” he pointed out.

Faisal, who thus far has been at the crease for 251 minutes and faced 191 balls, added that scoring century against India was something special while he would like to make a name for himself.

“Playing against India is different from playing against others. It was a dream come true for me to hit a century against the Indians.

“Moreover I wish to be remembered only as Faisal Iqbal rather than Javed Miandad’s nephew,” he said.

Agencies add: “I have learnt a lot from my uncle. He has always been there to help me out and polish my skills. But I have only wanted to do one thing and that is to make a name for myself,” he said.

“I speak a lot to my uncle but once you are at this level you need to do all the hard work yourself,” he said.

“While I was out of the squad my only aim was to get back. I wanted to be a part of this excellent team. I failed in the first innings and I was under pressure. I applied myself and the pitch also eased out.”

Faisal also scored 87 against India in the tour match at Lahore earlier this month and was praised by visiting captain Rahul Dravid.

“It’s a really good feeling when a big player like Dravid praises you and gives you tips for the future. It really boosted my confidence and it helped me today,” he added.