Veteran Pakistan spinner Zulfiqar Babar claims his team needs to stay one step ahead of England when they meet in Sharjah.

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The 36-year-old helped Pakistan win the second Test in Dubai in tandem with leg-spinner Yasir Shah, sharing 11 wickets between them.

The duo have taken over from Saeed Ajmal and Abdul Rehman, who helped Pakistan rout England 3-0 in the UAE three years ago.

Rehman is no longer in the reckoning while Ajmal has been struggling with a new bowling action after he was reported last year for his old action. Babar said Pakistan are confident of winning the third Test, which starts on Sunday.

“The mood is confident and we want to win the match so that we can take the series and rise in rankings,” Babar said.

Pakistan will go to second in Test rankings, behind South Africa, if they win 2-0.

Babar believes England’s resistance against Pakistan spinners on the challenging pitches in UAE has largely to do with their preparation under Sri Lankan legend Mahela Jayawardene.

“It’s tough because England have come here well prepared so we have to use our variations. They employed Jayawardene as batting consultant and they must have learnt good things from him, but we need to be one step ahead of them to get more success,” said Babar.

Babar was the lone specialist in the spin attack after back spasms ruled out leg-spinner Yasir Shah in the drawn first Test in Abu Dhabi, where England raised 598-9.

“It was tough to get them in the first Test but then I realised we can get the left handers by bowling in the rough and that gave me the desired results,” he added.