``Winning is always great and it's needed more frequently. But what is more important is the fact that Saeed Anwar and Aamir Sohail were back in form,'' Akram said from Lahore. ``I always had confidence in both the players, specially Saeed Anwar. He (Saeed Anwar) was through a rough period but I am glad that with sheer determination, he is back to his old ways,'' Akram, who has taken over the charge from Anwar, said.

Akram maintained that as a leader it was his moral duty to support his key player. ``Saeed Anwar has done for the team in the last three years or so more than anyone else has done. But this was the period when he wanted someone to boost his morale.'' Saeed Anwar's 108 not out was his first century in 11 matches. He now becomes the second leading century-maker after Desmond Haynes of West Indies who has 17. Indian skipper Sachin Tendulkar has 12 centuries.

``Aamir Sohail had been struggling with the bat as well as off-the-field. But now he has sorted out all his problems and it is great that he should now be looking forward to perform even better,'' Akram said.

Akram emphasised that he was not very worried about the continued slump in the form of Ijaz Ahmad. ``He is a match-winner and needs just one good innings. I am sure he can't be denied of runs for too long.''

The Pakistan skipper said Wednesday's match against Sri Lanka was ``a do-or-die one. We have to win it and today's win and yesterday's fightback has boosted the morale of my boys.'' Akram said he also took Tuesday's match against the West Indies to judge about their strength and weaknesses. ``It was important because we will be playing three Tests. I have picked up certain things from the match and when I sit with the selectors, I will discuss those points with them.''

Akram said he was suffering from a chest congestion. ``But I had to play the match because I am the captain. Had I sat out, then Saeed Anwar and Moin Khan also had a case because Anwar has a very bad stomach and Moin has throat infection.''

Saeed Anwar, Pakistan vice-captain, admitted that he was thinking to skip that match. ``I was feeling very weak because of stomach upset. I couldn't even sleep in the night. But my teammates backed me up and I am grateful to them.'' Saeed was of the view that he still needed a couple of more innings like the one he played on Tuesday evening. ``It was an easy paced wicket but if I get some more innings like this one, I will feel more confident while playing my shots. ``I had a look back at my previous innings and found out that I was falling to balls that were going away. So I committed to myself not to make the mistake again and stay at the wicket as much as possible,'' Anwar said from Lahore.

``I don't think that the release from the burden of captaincy has helped me. The fact is that I got the job when I was not scoring runs so there was double pressure on me,'' Anwar stated.

Aamir Sohail, who scored an unbeaten 71, said he was feeling good ``and relaxed. I had pressure on me as I was due for some runs. ``In fact, Haroon Rasheed (coach) helped me a lot as he pointed out that my bat was not coming straight. It was instead coming from somewhere around gully. He helped me rectify the mistake and today I got everything right.''