For all the chaos that preceded this game Pakistan find themselves in control. It is not yet over but it has started to feel decided: England have never successfully chased more than 209 to win a Test in Asia and their target here is 297, the pursuit of which started in the final half-hour of the third day in the worst imaginable style.

Common sense suggested an attempt simply to see out the last 11 overs before stumps and regroup overnight, to protect wickets and with them hope. England lost both openers in the first four overs for a combined three runs. This is a team that defines itself by thumbing its nose at convention, with often intoxicating results, but sometimes the situation demands sobriety.

Ben Duckett, the first-innings centurion, lasted only two balls before swinging for the first time into his trademark sweep and top-edging high into the dimming sky, Mohammad Rizwan running a few paces to his right from behind the stumps to take the catch. Zak Crawley advanced to Noman Ali but was stumped both by the flight of the ball and in due course by Rizwan. From 11 for two Ollie Pope and Joe Root held out until the close as England ended on 36 for two, still 261 behind.

They will feel that an achievable target was within their grasp, but it slipped through their fingers along with the two straightforward catches that would have sent Agha Salman back to the dressing-room for a single-figure score. Salman accepted those acts of charity and showed none of his own as he took the game away on his way to 63, while at the other end Sajid Khan continued his journey from entertainer to executioner.

Gradually England ran out of ideas and short of hope as the shadows lengthened and Pakistan’s lead did likewise. On a pitch now in its eighth day of use, and on which calm, controlled batting had begun to feel like like a distant memory rather than an imminent prospect, the ninth-wicket partnership cracked the code. Salman and Sajid became Pakistan’s SAS; for England, it was SOS.

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