England opted against enforcing the follow-on and stretched their advantage to a mighty 489 by reaching 98 for one, either side of three interruptions for showers during a gloomy evening in Manchester.
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Pakistan’s batting coach, Grant Flower, lamented the fall of late wickets that leaves his side struggling going into the third day.
Earlier in reply to England’s first innings score of 589, Pakistan were all out for 198 runs.
Root was notably less fluent than on day one but kept his concentration for a painstaking 355-ball milestone which arrived in nearly nine hours when he reverse-swept the world’s number one bowler Yasir Shah for his 22nd four.
Not the best of the starts for England as Alex Hales was knocked off by an in-swinging delivery by Amir in the seventh over of the game.
Woakes’s 104-ball innings, which included eight fours and a six, ended when he chipped a return catch straight back to Shah to leave England 414 for five.
Pakistan managed to get a wicket but the onslaught from Joe Root continued on second day as England push towards a big first innings total.
But their captain was dissuaded during a ninth-wicket stand of 60 between Misbah-ul-Haq (52) and Wahab Riaz from taking the quick route to a probable innings victory.
Pakistan saw off England’s experienced new-ball duo of James Anderson, returning to Test cricket on his Lancashire home ground after missing the first Test with a shoulder injury, and Stuart Broad.
“It was very satisfying, very pleasing to finally go and make one count”, Root, who twice got himself out during Pakistan’s 75-run win in the first of a four-Test series at Lord’s last week, told reporters.
“The key was wanting to bat while the wicket was still good and not wanting to put ourselves under any pressure of having to chase a score in the fourth innings”, he said.
Left-handed opener Masood, who had held firm for more than two hours, exited in familiar fashion on 39 when he edged Anderson to Root.
But Arthur, when asked if he thought his team now had a better chance of fighting out a draw over the remaining two days of this match, said: “Probably yes – it gives us a better chance”. Shortly after play resumed, Asad Shafiq fell for four when he drove loosely at a Broad slower ball and lobbed a catch to Hales at point. Misbah completed a 108-ball fifty before, sweeping once too often at off-spinner Ali, he was caught at short fine leg by Cook.
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Wicket-keeper Sarfraz Ahmed nicked Ben Stokes though to Root before the Yorkshireman repeated the trick off Woakes to account for Yasir Shah.
