Tea Pakistan 202 (Babar 75, Shakeel 63, Leach 4-98) and 136 for 3 (Shafique 32*, Imam 25*) need another 219 runs to beat England 281 (Duckett 63, Pope 60, Abrar 7-114) and 275 (Brook 108, Abrar 4-120)
It was a strategy that didn’t pay immediate dividends, however, as Mohammad Rizwan – promoted to open in Imam’s absence – and Abdullah Shafique launched Pakistan’s chase with intent in reaching 64 for 0 by lunch, at a brisk tempo of 4.27 an over. And yet, as in the second innings in Rawalpindi, Anderson had been a notable absentee from the opening exchanges, as Stokes held his main man back to exploit the possibility of reverse swing. When he arrived for the first over of the afternoon, he quickly transformed the innings prognosis.
Anderson’s first four deliveries of the session were negotiated safely enough, but the fifth was simply unplayable – a full-length seaming delivery that angled in at Rizwan then jagged wickedly around his outside edge to hit the top of off. Rizwan looked dumbfounded as he turned to survey the wreckage, but he had to go for 30 from 43 balls, and England had their opening at 66 for 1.
Jack Leach had been warming up to share the afternoon honours, but Stokes immediately signalled for Ollie Robinson to make it an all-seam attack. In his second over of the session, he too had produced a wonder-ball. With a hint of uneven bounce forcing Pakistan’s captain, Babar Azam, to play watchfully against the straight ball, Robinson instead hit the seam a full foot outside off, and Babar, seemingly grateful to be able to leave one, could only look on aghast at the ball zipped back to hit the top of off too.
Shafique all but succumbed to a near-identical delivery in Robinson’s next over, but he wouldn’t survive for much longer. Stokes rang the changes once more, recalling his quickest bowler, Wood, in the final over before drinks, and with his very first ball, he burst another off-stump rattler through Shafique’s defences, again from wide of the crease, but keeping low as it skidded on with extra oomph.
Imam and Shakeel repaired the damage as best they could for the remainder of the session, finishing with a flurry of final-over boundaries off Leach as Stokes reverted to his spinners to keep his pacemen fresh. The opportunities keep coming regardless – on 4, Shakeel top-edged a slog-sweep off Joe Root that fell short of Wood, set a few metres too deep at midwicket, while on 19, Imam drilled a hard chance back down the pitch at Will Jacks, who couldn’t cling on.
In spite of Pakistan’s relative success in the morning session, the major milestone had belonged to Brook, who converted his overnight 74 to his second hundred in four innings on this trip. By the time he holed out to deep square leg for 108, Brook had racked up 14 fours and a six in his 149-ball stay, replete with powerful strokeplay and impressive judgement of length, particularly against the spin of Abrar Ahmed, who was once again Pakistan’s most threatening bowler, as he finished with 4 for 120, and an 11-wicket match haul on debut.
Before he could convert that start into anything more meaningful, however, Stokes got underneath a heave to leg, where Ali on the midwicket boundary ran round for a well-judged catch. Robinson then missed a slog to leg as Abrar skidded a googly through his gate for his 11th wicket, before Wood poked a fast legbreak from Zahid Mahmood to slip.
Brook, by now, had cracked Mohammad Nawaz through midwicket to reach his hundred, but he holed out soon afterwards, before Anderson missed a reverse sweep to wrap up the innings.
Andrew Miller is UK editor of ESPNcricinfo. @miller_cricket