But of late he has shown signs of despair. At Sharjah, against Pakistan, Azhar was so short of confidence that Sachin dragged him to the door of the dressing room and sent him out to the crease with a pat on the back. And he's been short of confidence on this tour. In the second innings of the first Test, he sent in Mongia instead of coming in himself at number three in place of the injured Manjrekar. Says Ashok Mitra: "Azhar has either reached his peak or is going through a bad patch." Ironically, Azhar was Man of the Series in the Texaco one-day series, which preceded the Tests, scoring a brisk 73 off 64 balls at Old Trafford, 40 off 68 balls at Headingley, and an unbeaten 15 in the rain-marred Oval fixture. But the gloss of those innings wore off as the real thing began. At Edgbaston, he pottered around for 30 minutes for 13 runs in the first innings, and was out for duck in the second. But, more than the runs, it's the manner in which he's getting out to undeserving deliveries that is disconcerting. At Lord's, he fell flailing outside offstump for 16. In the last seven months, Azhar has hit just two 50s. These days, writes former Somerset captain Peter Roebuck, Azhar does not embrace the crease as much as flirt with it.