'We have good back-up' - Inzamam

Pakistan's chances of levelling the series against India at Multan have been hit by a number of injury concerns and poor form. Already shorn of Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Akhtar, Pakistan might be without Umar Gul, who is suffering from a side strain.

A final decision on his fitness is likely to be taken after an x-ray this afternoon. Although the injury is not thought to be related to the stress fractures of the back which kept him out of the game for over a year, Bob Woolmer told Cricinfo he is unlikely to be risked. "Afridi played the last game and he shouldn't have because of his rib cartilage injury. Sometimes you listen to the player and he was desperate to play but in hindsight it was the wrong decision. We have made that clear now to the players and won't take an unnecessary risk with Gul."

Pakistan have called up Rao Iftikhar Anjum, the fast-medium bowler, who has played 12 ODIs for Pakistan and was part of the squad until the series against England last year. Mohammad Sami, who was dropped from the Test and ODI squad after the Lahore Test against India but has been recalled in light of Shoaib's inury, is also suffering from fever.

Inzamam-ul-Haq said the injuries were a concern but little could be done about it. "Injuries are very much part of the modern game. Shoaib and Afridi are key players but other players in the squad are very talented and now have an opportunity to perform. Gul is going to the hospital to have his strain checked and we have got Rao Iftikhar as back-up. It is difficult to deal with injuries to bowlers but we can't do anything about it. We have good back-up."

The other concerns will be over the erratic form of Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Salman Butt. The former has gone for 194 runs in 25 overs and apart from the four victims in Peshawar, is wicketless in his last two games. After such a successful ODI series in India last year, Rana's form has hit Pakistan's bowling particularly hard. "Rana is not in good form but he has done so well for us for over a year now. It happens to all players occasionally but I think he can bounce back and produce the goods," said Inzamam.

Butt has made two successive second-ball ducks since his century at Peshawar, falling each time to Irfan Pathan. It has forced Pakistan to ponder the possibility of bringing in Imran Farhat as a replacement. That change might precipitate the inclusion of Faisal Iqbal in place of Afridi. "If Imran Farhat opens with Kamran Akmal, then Faisal Iqbal might play in the middle order," Inzamam hinted. But he added, "The team will only be decided later this afternoon."

Pakistan's shuffled batting order at Lahore, where Afridi opened, Akmal dropped to one-down and senior batsmen such as Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan came lower, came in for some criticism after they collapsed to 82 for four. But Inzamam defended the move, citing the form of players such as Afridi and Shoaib Malik over the last year. "Players at the top have been scoring runs over the last year and the batting order has been successful. In Lahore, we only moved Afridi up and Akmal down one position. We tried to utilize Afridi; had he stayed 15-20 overs we could have had a big score."

The series has been marked by the ability of the side batting second to chase down large totals. On a wicket which Inzamam said will help bowlers and batsmen alike and one on which 260-270 will be a good total, winning the toss might not be a great advantage. "There is only a little disadvantage for the team batting first. I still think 288 was a very competitive total in Lahore - with 5 wickets down and a required rate of seven an over, we needed just one more wicket. But Dhoni played an extraordinary innings to win it."

Needing to win the final two games to win a series they were expected to win, Pakistan will at least take some solace from their reputation for fightbacks and their performance in India last year, where after losing the first two games, they won the remaining four to win the series emphatically. Although Woolmer admitted it won't be as easy this time round - "They are a much better side than last year, they have played good cricket. Their bowlers are bowling good lengths and they have a fine batting line-up"- Inzamam is confident it can be repeated.

"We have almost the same team here that pulled it off in India last time. We've also come from behind in Tests over the last year and that will help the team in a situation like this. We have to work hard on all aspects of the game. It's simple now - we have to play really well to win the series."