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Pakistan will be aiming to end the 26-year-old series win drought when they meet England in the third and decisive one-day match at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Monday.

England took a 1-0 lead in Karachi when they successfully chased a 304-run target with more than two overs and five wickets to spare. Pakistan bounced back to draw the series level at 1-all at Lahore with an excellent allround performance. They achieved the victory target of 211 with more than five overs and eight wickets to spare.

Pakistan's last series win over England was way back in 1974 (in England) when they won the two-match series 2-0. And although Zaheer Abbas' team drew 1-1 in 1983-84, Pakistan in the last 26 years has lost eight series.

Monday's match is being considered as a morale-booster for the forthcoming three-Test series which starts at Lahore from Nov 15.

Like Karachi, Rawalpindi will be staging its first match under lights which has generated great interest amongst the followers of the game. Despite reports of shortage of tickets and baton charge on the ticket buyers, the enthusiasts were seen standing in long queues hoping to get even a Rs 30 ticket.

While the National Stadium Karachi has staged three matches under lights before playing host to its first one-day international, Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium has not hosted any match of significance. But the general feeling was that the light towers were low in height which might cause problems for fielders in the 30-yard circle on either side of the square.

Pakistan will again be attempting to exploit England's vulnerability against quality spinners like they did in Lahore when eight out of the nine wickets were baggedd by slow bowlers.

The groundsmen have also prepared the wicket keeping in mind that factor as the strip though looks bald and full of runs, has enough bite which should help the spinners. The outfield may not be as lightening as it was in the previous two games, but looks in good condition.

But once again, toss is expected to play a crucial role in the match because of the late evening dew. That's precisely why Australian match referee Barry Jarman has revised the playing duration. Like Lahore, the match will start at 12 noon.

Pakistan seems to be the better of the two teams, both in terms of bowling and batting strength.

Javed Miandad, the Pakistan coach, said his boys would go all out for the kill. "This is the last match of the series and we will try to go on vacations with the satisfaction of winning the series."

Nasser Hussain's main concern in the match will be the lack of at least a quality spinner and the middle-order batting which has to face the Pakistan spin trio. Ashley Giles has looked mediocre while Graeme Hick's part-time off-spin also failed to make an impact at Lahore. But when the Pakistan's threesome came into action, runs were difficult to come by and the visitors started to lose wickets at regular intervals.

Alec Stewart, talking on behalf of the England skipper, said when they came to Pakistan, they knew that this was a threat. "But we are trying to learn. We have asked for local spinners which would give us the required practice besides giving the local boys a great opportunity."

While Moin Khan minced no words in saying that he would retain the same team, Stewart said he would be disappointed if there was a change in his side. "I am not on the selectorial panel. But I will be really surprised if the changes are other than because of injury or sickness."

Teams (likely):

England: Marcus Trescothick, Alec Stewart, Nasser Hussain (captain), Graeme Hick, Graham Thorpe, Andrew Flintoff, Craig White, Mark Ealham, Ashley Giles, Darren Gough, Andrew Caddick. Vikram Solanki (12th man).

Pakistan: Saeed Anwar, Shahid Afridi, Salim Elahi, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Yousuf Youhana, Moin Khan (captain), Abdur Razzaq, Azhar Mahmood, Wasim Akram, Saqlain Mushtaq, Mushtaq Ahmad.

Umpires: Z.I. Pasha and Mian Aslam.

TV umpire: Aleem Dar.

Match referee: Barry Jarman (Australia).

© Dawn