Pakistan will draw inspiration from their series-levelling victory here two years ago when they clash with India in the third and final Test on Saturday.
BANGALORE: Pakistan will draw inspiration from their series-levelling victory here two years ago when they clash with India in the third and final Test on Saturday.
The tourists were trailing 1-0 going into the last match in 2005 at the Chinnaswamy Stadium here when they squared the three-Test series with a 168-run victory under Inzamam-ul-Haq's captaincy.
It was also a personal triumph for Inzamam, who scored an impressive century at this venue in his 100th Test. He quit Test cricket after a recent home series against South Africa and was replaced with Shoaib Malik.
Pakistan are in a similar situation now, having lost the opening Test in Delhi by six wickets and drawn the second at Kolkata. They are keen to deliver in the final match as they have not lost a Test series in India since 1980.
Younis Khan, who led the side in the second match in the absence of unfit Malik, said the team were confident of levelling the series after drawing the second Test from a difficult position.
"We denied India a win in Mohali in a similar situation two years ago and came back to square the series. We will do it again in Bangalore," he said.
"The Chinnaswamy Stadium has been a lucky ground for us. We will go into the match with a lot of confidence and you will see a different Pakistan in Bangalore."
Pakistan drew the opening Test at Mohali in 2005 before losing the second at Kolkata. Younis also played a key role in his team's series-levelling win here two years ago, scoring a double-hundred in the first innings and a half-century in the second. He is again in good form.
The Pakistani vice-captain made a match-saving hundred in the previous match when his side was reeling at 78-4 chasing a stiff 345-run target.
Younis is likely to lead the team here also as Malik has not fully recovered from an ankle injury sustained while playing football after the first Test.
Pakistan's Australian coach Geoff Lawson said they would wait till the last moment before taking a decision on Malik.
Although the tourists are still struggling to find an effective pair of openers, they have managed to solve their middle-order batting problems after a below-par performance in the opening match.
Misbah-ul-Haq, Kamran Akmal and Younis all made centuries at Kolkata, while Yousuf contributed an unbeaten 44 in a crucial 136-run stand for the unfinished fifth wicket with his captain on the final day.
India will again pin their hopes on spinners Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh, especially after naming a new-look pace attack due to injuries to key fast bowlers.
Left-arm seamer Zaheer Khan (heel) and Munaf Patel (back), who shared the new ball in the first two Tests, are out because of injuries. They were replaced with Irfan Pathan and Vikram Rajvir Singh.
Pathan looks set to play his first Test since June 2006. He has so far bagged 91 wickets in 25 matches, while Singh has played only five Tests.
Kumble, retained as captain for the forthcoming tour of Australia, said the team was focused on wrapping up the series with a win on his home ground.
India: Anil Kumble (capt), Wasim Jaffer, Dinesh Karthik, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Venkatsai Laxman, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan, Ishant Sharma, Vikram Rajvir Singh, Yuvraj Singh, Murali Kartik.
Pakistan: Shoaib Malik (capt), Salman Butt, Yasir Hameed, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Misbah-ul-Haq, Faisal Iqbal, Kamran Akmal, Sohail Tanvir, Mohammad Sami, Shoaib Akhtar, Danish Kaneria, Yasir Arafat, Rao Iftikhar, Abdur Rehman.
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