Seam not swing does the trick for Asif

"Swing bowling can be caught (on video camera) but it's difficult to catch seam," said Asif revealing his success mantra.

Rookie paceman Mohammad Asif, who has emerged as the main tormentor for India on the current tour, says he relies on seam rather than swing to plot the dismissals of rival batsmen.

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The 23-year-old paceman, regarded as the find of the tour for persistently troubling the Indian top-order, said that he had made no changes to his bowling approach since making his debut in January 2005 but had tasted success only of late.

"Swing bowling can be caught (on video camera) but it's difficult to catch seam," he said revealing his success mantra.

The Sheikhpura-born first grabbed international attention when he rocked the Indians in the series-deciding Test at Karachi and followed it up with a sterling show in the first one-dayer at Peshawar.

He got noticed especially because of the manner in which he dismissed stalwarts like VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar -- sending the stumps flying with his sharp pace and inward movement in Karachi.

The seam bowling of Asif, who had a short stint at the MRF Pace foundation at Chennai after being sent to the southern Indian city along with three others by the Pakistan Cricket Board, made a huge difference to the outcome of the Test that Pakistan won by a huge margin of 341 runs.

In fact, Pakistan went on to win that match after being 0 for 3 and then 39 for six and for that series success over India after a gap of nearly two decades, the home team would be grateful to Asif.

The bowler, in a casual chat with reporters at the team hotel on Tuesday, said he enjoyed taking the wickets of Dravid in the Tests and that of Sehwag in the Peshawar one-dayer which the home team won by the D/L Method after poor light stopped play.

"I enjoyed the wicket of Dravid the most in the Karachi Test. The ball swung in and seamed away. I also enjoyed taking the wicket of Sehwag (in the first ODI). Not many batsmen could have played that ball," said Asif who had the Indian opener caught behind for 5.

He also praised Sachin Tendulkar's purposeful innings of 100 in the first ODI. "He batted well. He was careful in the initial stages," he said.

Asif, who did not have any formal coaching before climbing the international cricket ladder, said he got a huge-confidence boost after his sterling display at Karachi and it helped him a lot while bowling in the first ODI in which over 600 runs were scored.

"The wicket at Peshawar was also flat like the one at Faisalabad. But I had gained a lot of confidence after Karachi and that's the reason I could bowl well yesterday," said Asif who emerged the pick of the bowlers on either side with superb figures of 3 for 30 in 9.4 overs.

Asif was glad that he was being noticed in a team already brimming with pace talent.