It has been quite fascinating to watch fortunes changing rapidly. A series that had begun with India overwhelming favourites has become a battle of equals after just two games.

The turnaround is a tribute to Pakistan's never-say-die attitude, and India will do well to imbibe some of in Sunday’s third one-dayer at the Green Park stadium here. After Inzamam-ul-Haq’s retirement, there is a visible gap in Pakistan middle-order, but the way they have tided over that deficiency has been remarkable.

Their win in Mohali was built around Younis Khan, but there were important contributions from skipper Shoaib Malik and Misbah-ul-Haq. By no stretch of the imagination do Malik and Misbah possess the same class of most of the Indian batsmen, and nor do they boast impressive international records.

Spirit stands out

But in spirit and determination, they are on par with anybody else, and that played a significant role in Pakistan squaring the series and gaining confidence. India are not down and out. They need to concentrate on the basics a little more. In the last game, the Indian batsmen failed to forge any substantial partnership -- barring the one between Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir -- and that hindered their progress.

Perhaps carried away by the ease with which Tendulkar and Gambhir scored, the subsequent batsmen adopted a cavalier approach instead of trying to build on the excellent start.

It reflected in their total as they ended up with 321 when 350 was easily gettable. India cannot afford another slip-up and concede the upper hand to Pakistan. Pakistan can be doubly dangerous when they sniff a weakness, and India will have to be on guard.

However, to place the blame on the batsmen alone will be wrong. The bowlers too need to tighten up their act, especially in the death overs. Pakistan had smashed 167 in the last 20 overs in Moahli, and the Indian bowlers looked short of ideas as the opposition resorted to unorthodox ways.

Slog-over blues

Slog-over blues have been haunting India for a while now, a fact not lose on bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad.

He will certainly like to see an improved performance from his wards on the morrow. The influx of youth has led to a remarkable improvement in the Indian fielding, but in Mohali, the hosts fumbled on more than one occasion.

Usually agile fielders like Robin Uthappa and Gambhir made some fine saves but also botched up on the field.

India need an overall improvement in all departments to surge ahead. India might think of bringing back left-arm spinner Murali Kartik -- since the pitch here might assist the tweakers -- in place of Virender Sehwag or Uthappa.

The other option is to rest Sourav Ganguly, but it remains to be seen whether the mandarins take that step.

On the other hand, Pakistan looked an improved side while chasing down a mammoth total. Their most potent weapon, Shoaib Akhtar, has been gaining in rhythm with each match, and that might not be good news for their rivals.

In Guwahati, Akhtar looked a bit rusty and lacked rhythm, though he did crank up extreme pace. But in Mohali, he approached the crease smoothly and looked far more fluent. The only worry for them is the form of paceman Rao Iftikar Anjum, who has leaked runs in both matches. The third match might see the return of left-arm spinner Abdul Rehman, and that will give more variety to their attack.

Teams (from):

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Sourav Ganguly, Gautam Gambhir, Robin Uthappa, Rohit Sharma, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, S Sreesanth, Murali Kartik, Praveen Kumar, Rudra Pratap Singh, Yuvraj Singh, Irfan Pathan.

Pakistan: Shoaib Malik (capt), Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Abdul Rehman, Kamran Akmal, Yasir Hameed, Shoaib Akhtar, Misbah-ul-Haq, Umar Gul, Shahid Afridi, Rao Iftikar Anjum, Imran Nazir, Fawad Alam, Salman Butt, Sohail Tanvir.

Umpires: Ian Gould (England) and Amish Saheba. Third umpire: Suresh Shastri. Match referee: Roshan Mahanama (Sri Lanka).