BANGALORE, Dec 7: Pakistan captain Younis Khan is confident that the Pakistan team will be giving its best shot to win the third and final Test here at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium to level the series against India.

Younis, who led the side in the second Test in Kolkata after regular skipper Shoaib Malik hobbled out with an ankle injury following the Delhi Test defeat, told a press conference on Friday that he was looking forward to the Bangalore Test in a positive frame of mind despite his reluctance to take the captaincy.

“The captaincy is one area from which I always try to run away because I want to keep smiling. It’s not an easy job, mind you, because of the pressures involved. I just want to enjoy life and cricket,” he said. “But at the same time, I just can’t shy away from it since here we are in a situation where we have to win and level the series.”

When asked why he chose to accept the vice-captaincy for this tour, Younis promptly replied: “I was talked into taking up the assignment by Dr Nasim Ashraf [the PCB chairman] despite expressing my reservation on it. As long as I’m in this position, people will continue to ask me questions on the topic of captaincy and so forth.”

Younis admitted it won’t be easy for Pakistan as they head into Saturday’s last Test at their venue. “We have won here twice in the past four Tests. But defeating India won’t be easy since they are a good side. But I can assure you we’ll come hard at them to press for victory. And to do that everyone will have their part because I always believe in the ethics of teamwork.”

“It’s doesn’t matter who plays. One can’t rely on individuals like [Mohammad] Yousuf, Shoaib [Akhtar], [Danish] Kaneria or me to carry the team. All of us have to put in a collective effort if we want to achieve victory,” said Younis, who played a match-saving knock of 107 in the Kolkata Test.

Younis hoped the current lot would head into the Test with happy memories of the 2005 series when Pakistan won by 168 runs to square the rubber under Inzamam-ul-Haq.

“Yeah, that win here would serve as a huge motivation factor. The lads who played in that game can inspire the rest of the squad. Although it won’t be an easy task, but we would try to play to our potential.”