Yet the tourists were disappointed not to seal an unlikely win in Abu Dhabi last week, bad light stopping play when England were 25 runs from victory with six wickets in hand after a frenzied final day.
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As lack of spin options exposed Pakistan bowling lineup in Abu Dhabi Test, the management has begun to ponder over plan B in net game in Dubai.
Yasir Shah, who made 16 runs from 17 balls, was tempted into another big hit by fellow leg-spinner Adil Rashid, but he edged the ball to slip.
Yasir is likely to replace seamer Rahat Ali at the Dubai worldwide Stadium to bowl alongside slow left-armer Zulfiqur Babar – with Bilal Asif also in the frame to make his debut as a second off-spinner – in addition to Shoaib Malik.
Cook fell for 65, new spin sensation Yasir Shah’s first England test victim, but Root – the world’s second-ranked batsman – is unbeaten on 76 and eyeing a ninth century in 34 tests.
Pakistan narrowly escaped defeat after an extraordinary collapse saw them slump to 173 all out on the last day to spice up a Test which was heading for a draw until the fifth morning.
Mark Wood separated the two when he had Younis caught behind.
England took two valuable wickets by lunch after losing the toss in the second Test against Pakistan in Dubai.
But Shafiq became the fourth batsman to pass 50 in the innings, his coming in 111 balls – and then, following his partnership of 104 with Misbah, combined effectively with Sarfraz.
Misbah was harried a few times by short-pitched rising deliveries from the England pacemen, as Wood once struck him in the helmet, and Broad caused him discomfort in his last spell of the day.
From English bowling side, no-one could really damage the opposition and ended their day with dividing 1 wicket each among four bowlers – JM Anderson, Moeen Ali, Massachusetts Wood and BA Stokes.
It is not just that aggregate, but an assurance at the crease, which means Broad is able to breathe easy watching Root – because he knows there is a strong probability he will not be having to bowl again any time soon.
“I wouldn’t say the ball was doing anything, but Pakistan kept playing and missing, giving England a chance”. It has won four and lost two matches.
English bowlers did a commendable job as they managed to scalp six Pakistani wickets for less than 100 runs an that too within a session.
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Thanks to their alliance, worth an unbroken 91, England reached the tea break 273 runs in arrears of Pakistan’s first innings total. “If we can bat a couple of hours tomorrow and let Sarfraz (Ahmed) play his natural game, maybe we can take the game away from them”.
