Salman Agha pledged that Pakistan will put every effort into securing a first home Test win in "God knows how many years" after England lost two late wickets on the third evening in Multan. England need 261 more runs on a worn, re-used pitch to take a 2-0 series lead, while Pakistan require eight wickets to set up a decider in Rawalpindi.
Pakistan ripped up their long-term plans after their innings loss in the first Test, making four changes and packing their side with spin options after opting to re-use the same strip for the second week in a row. Salman admitted that he was anticipating a difficult week after so much upheaval, but said he was impressed by his team-mates' response.
"To be honest, I was thinking, 'It is going to be hard,'" Salman told Sky Sports. "There was a lot of changes - and big changes. But the way the team has gelled, and the way the new guys have come in and we've welcomed them [has been great]. They come in and they are chipping in.
"Look at Sajid [Khan]. He took seven wickets and scored important runs. And then you will see Noman Ali. He came and took wickets, and scored important runs. I think it's very good for Pakistan cricket, the way they came and gelled in and contributed. That's amazing."
England, meanwhile, face a tough chase in challenging conditions, and their assistant coach Paul Collingwood said that pulling off a win in pursuit of 297 would be an even greater achievement than their victory last week. "I think it would, under the circumstances and the conditions that we've been given," he said.
"The amazing thing is now there's still hope, and there's only hope because of the amazing things that these guys have done in the past… You look at that first Test in India [in Hyderabad], I don't think anybody had given us any hope of going on to win that one, but someone like Ollie Pope goes out and makes a double [196]. They are capable of doing amazing things.
"We've got to be realistic. It's effectively the ninth day that wicket's being played on tomorrow, and as we can see, it's doing plenty for the spinners. There's lots of cracks there… [But] we all know if you get on a roll and get a partnership going, anything can happen. It'd be one hell of a chase. It's something that we'll obviously relish and try to go for."
Pakistan have not won a home Test match since they beat South Africa in February 2021, with four draws and seven defeats since then, and have lost all six of their Tests in the last 12 months. Salman said that ending those streaks would be "very important" and that Pakistan would give everything on the fourth day.
"It's going to be massive, because we haven't won a Test match at home for… I don't know, God knows how many years now," he said. "It's going to be a very, very big thing for us. We will make sure we will put all the efforts there and make sure we win this game, because that's very important for us."