A Younis Khan masterclass (218) and leg-spinner Yasir Shah getting his groove back after a hiding in the last two Tests left England on the verge of a defeat against Pakistan in the fourth Test. At the end of day three, Pakistan were in command of proceedings, with England tottering at 88/4, still 126 behind.

Pakistan had amassed 542 in their first innings after dismissing England for 328.

The visitors started the day with a slender lead of 12. The going had been tough in the series before this for Younis Khan, but with the help of a surprisingly subdued innings from wicket-keeper Sarfraz Ahmed (44), and a determined Mohammad Amir (39 not out), he piled the pressure on England.

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Pakistan have seldom tried to attack James Anderson and Stuart Broad earlier in the series. On Saturday the veteran Pakistani batsman pulled and drove Broad at will. And against Moeen Ali's off-spin, he positively went on a rampage, smashing three sixes in the space of 15 minutes. Khan has equalled Kumar Sangakkara's record of scoring three double hundreds after turning 35.

Luck was on Pakistan's side as England dropped four catches. In the third Test, the hosts had managed to overturn a first innings deficit of 103 into a win. But this time, the task looked much more daunting as they started batting 214 adrift of Pakistan. The signs looked ominous with Wahab Riaz snaring Alastair Cook early on.

Joe Root looked fluent but Yasir Shah had found his groove back. Alex Hales was trapped plumb in front and James Vince might have played his last Test for England, for a while at least, after departing for a duck. Towards the close of play, Root was adjudged leg before too, leaving his side in tatters.

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Brief Scores

England 328 (Moeen Ali 108, Jonny Bairstow 55; Sohail Khan 5 for 68) and 88/4 (Joe Root 39; Yasir Shah 3 for 15) trail Pakistan 542 (Younis Khan 218, Asad Shafiq 109; Chris Woakes 3 for 82, Steve Finn 3 for 110) by 126 runs.