Finally, after four sessions of madness that brought 22 wickets, calm was restored as Younis Khan and Azhar Ali proved that the general consensus was quite correct: there is nothing wrong with the Dubai pitch.

The pair put on 194 in an unbroken stand over the course of two sessions, stonewalling the English bowling before cashing in as the opposition tired. At the end of it, Younis had the first century of the series, and Pakistan had a lead of 180 with eight wickets in hand.

A series whitewash looks an inevitability for England now because they have consistently failed to show the sort of application that was on display over the course of the last two sessions on Saturday. Ali took 51 balls to score his first six runs, but knew that the hard work would pay off once the ball had softened and the sting had gone out of England's attack.

Ali finished the day with 75 to his name as Pakistan closed on 222 for two. Younis was more fluid throughout, which allowed him to go to three figures in the final hour of the day, which he managed in 166 deliveries.

The closest England came to breaking the partnership was through a potential run-out, when Matt Prior failed to capitalise on some miscommunication. Pakistan's lead was still in double digits at the time, and neither batsman had reached fifty.

The missed opportunity meant that England's bowlers toiled for the remainder of the day, none moreso than Monty Panesar, who whirled his way through 33 overs.

Although he struck early on when he trapped Mohammad Hafeez lbw, the opener becoming over-eager after taking 10 runs off the previous deliveries and attempting a misguided sweep, Panesar was to labour through the remainder of the day without overly troubling either Younis or Ali.

Taufeeq Umar had been the first Pakistan batsman to depart when he was caught at slip by Andrew Strauss off the bowling of James Anderson.

His wicket, along with that of Hafeez, kept England well and truly in the match as Pakistan found themselves still 14 runs adrift with two wickets down, but with no further wickets falling in the day the tourists face a tough slog to get back into it.

Strauss' side had hoped to gain a healthy advantage after bowling Pakistan out for just 99 on day one, but even Strauss' half-century could not prevent his side from being dismissed for 141.

England were 104 for six overnight, with Strauss on 42, but lost their nightwatchman James Anderson in the first over of the day when he was bowled through the gate by Abdur Rehman.

After Saeed Ajmal had trapped Stuart Broad lbw and Strauss had gone to his half-century, Rehman went on to claim his fifth wicket of the innings when the England captain came down the pitch and was stumped by Adnan Akmal for 56.

The inability to record a significant first innings total will likely come back to haunt England, who will have to break the trend of their series performances with the bat if they are to avoid a 3-0 scoreline.