There is nothing unusual in the Test match starting today at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Already five Tests have been played at this venue, four in the year 2002 when Australia and the West Indies citing security reasons played two Tests each against Pakistan, and again in the year 2011 when Sri Lanka played one of their matches here.

It was all fun and game then as Pakistan won both of their matches against the West Indies by huge margins. But when they faced Australia later that year in October, they lost both by a margin of an innings.

In one of the Tests Pakistan were bowled out for just over fifty in each innings against Australia. Against Sri Lanka in 2011 the story was different as the game ended in a draw.

For Pakistan, in this third and decisive match of the present series, nothing less than a victory would be needed to save a series in which Pakistan will be going all out to finish on equal terms, saving thus the humiliation of a home series loss.

In the drawn first Test at Abu Dhabi Pakistan squandered their chances of going one up after the Sri Lankan fought back with the help of their captain Angelo Mathews’s century to play themselves back in the reckoning and earn a favourable result to deprive Pakistan of an assured win.

If only Pakistan had learnt some lessons from that, things may have been different. Instead of making changes they trusted the same old combination thus falling on their faces and producing sub-standard performance with both bat and ball as Sri Lanka dominated the Test to achieve a desired result.

Most important, therefore, for the Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq and his team of selectors on the tour will be to put some thought into fielding a combination which might come up with a lot more fruitful display all round.

Bilawal Bhatti is injured, suffering with hamstring, and Rahat Ali does not really deserve to be a part of the bowling attack having taken only two wickets in the last two Tests. But what worries me most is the failure of Saeed Ajmal who so far has only bagged five wickets and has made little impression on the Sri Lankans who are known to have great skills while facing the spinners.

It is true though that Pakistan as the hosts have been short changed because the pitches here are not of their liking to have any advantage but so is true for the Sri Lankans.

The difference, of course, in my view is that their medium-fast bowlers, Lakmal, Eranga and Pradeep have all bowled a better line and length that our own bowlers did not, the reason why the opponents reaped it rich.

Of our batsmen, only Misbah and Younis Khan have so far played with controlled presence while the rest were patchy.

The talents of young pacer Mohammad Talha and seasoned Abdul Rehman should not go to waste and they must find a place today when others have failed to deliver. Pakistan have got to convince themselves before the start of the play today that this is vital and a decisive match in which unless they enter with a positive frame of mind, things will remain as morbid.