Yasir key for Pakistan but uncertainty surrounds his return

Dubai - Captain Azhar's own form has been a matter of concern too.

After the highs of the Test series, Pakistan now face a desperate fight to salvage their pride. Stunned by the English team's impressive ability to fight back, Azhar Ali's men must win in front of their passionate supporters at the magnificent Dubai Cricket Stadium to level the four-match ODI series.
The former world champions know they cannot put a foot wrong in Friday's fourth and final ODI against an England team that have won two matches on the trot after tamely losing the first game in Abu Dhabi.
It will be the Pakistani batsmen that will be under severe pressure to show that they have what it takes to perform after the ODI retirement of the talismanic Misbah-ul Haq.
The former Pakistan captain, who so often faced the wrath of the critics for his occasional slow-scoring rate, was the vital cog in the middle order, often bailing the team out of the most embarrassing of positions.
They do have the hugely experienced Shoaib Malik at number five - a position from which Misbah essayed some of the most defiant innings without ever scoring a hundred. But with scores of 26, 16 and 16 in the current series, Malik has so far failed to fill the void left by Misbah.
Captain Azhar's own form has been a matter of concern too. A batsman famous for his dogged style in Test cricket, the 30-year-old right-hander was the surprise choice to lead the ODI team after Misbah finally decided to quit the 50-overs game.
Since taking over the captaincy, Azhar's batting record with an average of 59.36 and two hundreds looks highly impressive until you take a closer look.
A huge chunk of his 653 runs during this period have come against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. Here against Eoin Morgan's determined team, the Lahore-born batsman hasn't managed to master the art of building an ODI innings.
In the third match in Sharjah, he was beginning to feel confident on a pitch that wasn't really conducive for stroke-making, but a run-out ended his resistance.   
Azhar put on a brave face at the pre-match Press conference on Thursday when questions were raised about his lean phase with the bat, but he knows the best way to silence his critics will be to let his bat do the talking on the morrow.
The Pakistani media were still speculating if the talented leggie Yasir Shah will be fit enough tomorrow to roll his arm for his country in the do-or-die battle. Shah becomes a key figure because Pakistan's batsmen are not alone in the bout with self-doubt, their bowlers too have let their rivals off the hook after doing all the hard work.
If Shah returns from his knee injury it will obviously boost the morale of the bowling unit on a pitch where the margin of error could be too thin --.especially when you keep in mind an England team that bats deep, thanks to their share of gritty all-round cricketers.
Morgan was effusive in his praise of James Taylor and the wicketkeeper-batsman Joss Buttler who shared an unbroken 117-run partnership in Sharjah - a partnership that won them a game from a precarious position.
Now Morgan's men will be brimming with confidence going into the finale on Friday. It remains to be seen if Azhar Ali can inspire Pakistan to come out of their shell. Else, England definitely have the weapons to leave them licking their wounds under the Ring of Fire.  
rituraj@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai