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West Indies captain Brian Lara said his team would come out fighting in the third day-night match against Pakistan in Lahore on Sunday (today), hoping that they could still win the one-day series.

“We knew from the start we can win this series. Even though we have lost one game we will try and come (down) tough on Pakistan,” he said.

Lara suffered slight knee niggles in nets on Saturday but he hoped to recover after treatment. “I am fine, just getting some treatment. It’s been a long tour and we have been away for quite some time. Hopefully, everybody will be available for today’s match, including myself,” said Lara, with both knees strapped.

Star batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who missed West Indies’ narrow two-wicket defeat in the second match at Faisalabad, is likely to return. The first game of the five-match series was washed out due to rain in Rawalpindi.

Lara said his team needed to score more runs to help the bowlers out. “The fact that we played well in the second half of the game in Faisalabad is nothing that is surprising to us, we just didn’t get the runs. I think our bowlers are capable of keeping the best batting teams in the world to limits,” he remarked.

The tourists scored just 151 after being sent in but their bowlers gave Pakistan a scare until a patient knock of 42 not out from captain Inzamam-ul-Haq helped the home side win the game.

“The games we have lost (in) the last three months were because of batting so we need to get that together,” Lara said. He added that the absence of important players, including Chanderpaul for the most recent game, was not an excuse.

West Indies are also missing key batsmen Ramnaresh Sarwan, who returned home after sustaining a foot injury in the third Test, and Dwayne Bravo, who returned home to be with a close family member.

Pakistan will miss Younis Khan, who will not play the match due to his brother’s death earlier this week. But star batsman Mohammad Yousuf will return after missing the second match to be with his wife, who is expecting a baby next month.

Coach Bob Woolmer said his team respected the West Indies and would not weaken their grip.

“They are already a respected opponent and it was good to win a narrow match at Faisalabad. Narrow matches affect your heartbeat but we still came (out) on top and aim (for) that same performance,” said Woolmer.

“It turned out to be a difficult pitch at Faisalabad and there will again be some movement in Lahore. Let’s hope we keep all the departments well,” he hoped.

Squads: Pakistan: Inzamam-ul-Haq (captain), Imran Farhat, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Yousuf, Shoaib Malik, Abdul Razzaq, Kamran Akmal (wicket-keeper), Rao Iftikhar, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Umar Gul, Abdul Rehman, Danish Kaneria, Mohammad Sami, Yasir Hameed.

West Indies: Brian Lara (captain), Chris Gayle, Lendl Simmons, Daren Ganga, Marlon Samuels, Runako Morton, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Dwayne Smith, Denesh Ramdin (wicket-keeper), Ian Bradshaw, Corey Collymore, Jerome Taylor, Daren Powell, Dave Mohammed.

Umpires: Nigel Llong (ENG), Asad Rauf (PAK); Television umpire: Zameer Haider (PAK); Match referee: Alan Hurst (AUS).

Source:The News