Sreesanth and Harbhajan Singh during a training session in Gwalior on Wednesday, the eve of the fourth ODI. (AFP)

Gwalior: Three matches into the one-day series, Pakistan still seem a nervous visiting side struggling to shed the shackles of mediocrity. The killer instinct, so much a part of their previous visits, has strangely been missing.

The attitude and body language of the players have hardly been inspiring. Apart from the Shahid Afridi-Gautam Gambhir spat in Kanpur (both have since been fined), the aggression has been missing too. The one man who could change it all still remains Shoaib Akhtar.

The circumstances, no doubt, have forced him to maintain a low profile. He no longer has the same fearsome label attached to him. The hunger is not evident.

In their make or break match for the IndianOil Cup at the Roop Singh Stadium on Thursday, captain Shoaib Malik will hope that the Rawalpindi Express is at his lethal best. The fast bowler blames his patchy form to not enough preparation leading to the series.

During an interaction with the students at the Scindia School on Wednesday, Shoaib said: “There’s no doubt I wanted to play this series very much. But I would have liked to have played another four-day match before it got underway.”

His captain, though, feels it will need a concerted team effort to level the series.

“This is our last chance… We are aware of the importance. It’s a question of life and death. We are determined to fight till the end. The result is obviously not in our hands,” said Malik.

Robin Uthappa doesn’t agree that this series has been less competitive. “I can promise that there is no lack of intensity. It is still as hostile as it used to be on the field. We still play it tough on the field.”

Aware of Pakistan’s ability to bounce back from seemingly lost situations in the past, the Indians are not taking things lightly. During an extended training session in the evening, the stress was on physical fitness and fielding.

Had Pakistan not dropped a couple of chances, it would have been tough for the hosts in Kanpur. The fielding wasn’t top class with the captain struggling to hide the likes of Rudra Pratap Singh and Murali Kartik on the field.

It bodes well for Indian cricket that there is fierce competition for a few places in the side. But the real challenge will be to maintain consistency, something the Indians have lacked in recent memory.

Sarfraz Ahmed, the visitors’ cover for Kamran Akmal, arrived on Wednesday and practised with the side. It is likely that Akmal will play despite injury concerns. “It’s a slight niggle… Nothing serious,” said Malik.

The hard nature of the wicket, which promises bounce and carry, has forced the Indians to consider playing Virender Sehwag in place of Murali Kartik. The left-arm spinner wasn’t impressive in the last game.

Moreover, like all day-night matches, the dew factor will come into play in the second session. An extra batsman can always come in handy. The captain winning the toss would want to bat second.

TEAMS

INDIA (likely): Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag/Murali Kartik, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Robin Uthappa, Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Rudra Pratap Singh.

PAKISTAN (likely): Salman Butt, Kamran Akmal, Younis Khan, Mohammed Yousuf, Shoaib Malik, Misbah-ul Haq, Shahid Afridi, Sohail Tanveer, Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul, Rao Iftikhar/Abdur Rehman.

Umpires: Billy Doctrove and A.M. Saheba. TV: Suresh Shastri.

Match Referee: Roshan Mahanama.

Match starts: 2.30pm.