All eyes will be on Pakistan's Yasir Shah, who missed the first Test against England due to back spasm, when he comes to bowl in the second Test match at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Thursday.
With the first Test resulting in a draw, both England and Pakistan are hungry for a win and the second Test in Dubai presents a chance for both the teams to go 1-0 up in the three-match Test series.
From what we saw in the first Test match, it is not going to be an easy task for either. Both have to play some brilliant cricket, consistently, for five days to emerge triumphant.
After a great performance in the first innings when they scored 523 runs, Pakistani batsmen were miserable in the second innings as they were dismissed for 173 runs and were very close to defeat. Pakistan coach, Waqar Younis, who was unhappy with the way the team finished the Test match, believes it is time for them to pull up their socks in second Test.
"The way they played, we have to really pull our socks in the second Test. What happened was not on and we have to really improve on that if we want to win the series," ESPN Cricinfo quoted Pakistan coach, Waqar Younis, as saying
"We have experience in our batting, we know our batting and know it should have lasted the final day, or the final session but we didn't and that we have to consider."
However, Waqar will be confident with the return of Shah, who has been one of their best bowlers of late and has helped the team yield positive results. Pakistan resembles a confident unit with Yasir in the side as he can run through the England batting line up.
Yasir, who was fully prepared for the first Test, had chalked his plans to get rid of the English batsmen as he had watched videos of the England players prior to the series. Yasir, who is closing to full fitness, is eager for the second Test to start.
"I had worked so hard watching videos of England players, marking their weaknesses. I was unfortunate with the injury so whatever comes next I am ready for it. I am close to full fitness - for now I am 90 to 95% fit but I am feeling much better. I have bowled some 13 overs on the sidelines during the first Test but now I am going to bowl full with batting and fielding," said Shah.
A mouth watering clash is in store with Shah pitted against England's strong batting line up. England have quality players in their side such as Joe Root, Alistair Cook, Moeen Ali and Ian Bell to handle the leggie.
Though the focus is on Shah, primarily, make no mistake, England's Adil Rashid, who made his debut in the first Test, started off in an impressive manner taking five wickets in the second innings.
Where to watch live
Pakistan vs England 2nd Test match is scheduled for a 10am local time ( 11:30am IST, 11am PKT, 7am BST) start with live coverage in India on Ten Cricket. The live streaming option will be available on Tensports.com.
Cricket fans in Pakistan can watch the Pakistan vs England 2nd Test live on PTV and Ten Sports. Viewers in the UK can enjoy the entire Pakistan vs England 2nd Test live action on Sky Sports 2/HD, with live streaming on Sky Go.
Viewers in the US can watch Pakistan vs England 2nd Test live on Willow TV and stream the game on Willow TV Online.
