Pakistan vs. England, 3rd Test, Day 4: Hosts Turn Up the Heat on Cook and Co.

England will need to complete their highest-ever run chase in Asia if they’re to beat Pakistan and square this enthralling three-match series.

Their already-tricky pursuit of 284 for victory was made even more difficult by the loss of both Moeen Ali and Ian Bell, both under-pressure batsmen falling shortly before the close of play.

Earlier, Mohammad Hafeez frustrated England’s bowlers by advancing his epic innings to 151 and, with the aid of his lower middle-order, led Pakistan to an intimidating total of 355.

Do England have a chance of snatching a sensational victory?

Let's have a look at the takeaways from Wednesday's play and glance ahead at what could be a nail-biting finale.

 

Hit the ground running

In all sports, making a good start is crucial, and given the tight situation, this was certainly the case for England in the first session.

And they so nearly did!

Adil Rashid's action-packed over included two LBW shouts, one of which, according to Hawk Eye, was going to hit the stumps but pitched just outside of leg.

Equally frustrating for England was the sight of Hafeez charging down the wicket and swiping at thin air, only for Jonny Bairstow to also miss the ball and consequently a straightforward stumping chance.

Considering Hafeez was 97 at that point and went on to add another 54 important runs, if this chance had been taken, then the whole course of the match could have been different.

Mohammad Hafeez

After narrowly surviving two chances in the first over, the swashbuckling Hafeez went on to play what will most likely be the match-defining innings.

By the time he'd tiredly chipped to long-on, the Pakistani opener had occupied the crease for 266 balls to score 151 vital runs in a clash that has, so far, produced just two scores of over 50.

Despite being axed from the side on numerous occasions in the past, the 35-year-old finishes the series as Pakistan's leading runscorer with 380 runs at an average of 63.33 procured at a healthy strike rate of 56.88.

Does Hafeez deserve to be the man of the series?

Mover and out

MARWAN NAAMANI/Getty Images

Speaking of openers, the Moeen Ali experiment, namely pushing the 29-year-old to the top of the order, has probably reached its unsatisfying conclusion.

After beginning with a flurry of boundaries against the pacemen, the all-rounder became becalmed against the spin of Shoaib Malik and Zulfiqar Babar and struggled to score runs.

And it was no surprise when the former beat his defences with a straight one, sending the bearded-batsman trudging back to the pavilion with lots to contemplate.

Ali has managed just 84 runs at an average of 14 from six innings on this tour, and the left-hander will most likely find himself back down the lineup for England's forthcoming tour of South Africa.

Spinner vs. spinner

England's triumvirate of spinners, Samit Patel, Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali, each took a wicket in Pakistan's second innings, but on a turning track, they struggled to make an impact for the most part.

The odd quality delivery—see Patel's ball to remove Sarfraz Ahmed—was a rarity among a wild bag of full tosses and long hops.

In fact, in this particular game, England's spinners have managed to take just seven wickets at a cost of 60.4 per time compared to Pakistan's slow bowlers who have already claimed 10 scalps at a cost of 24.2 each.

If the result ends up falling in the hosts' favour, then this is the major reason why.

As reported on ESPNCricinfo, Jimmy Anderson had the following to say:

"

In international cricket, you have to learn fast; if you don't, you don't stick around in it. So they're going to have to if they're going to improve and help us win next winter. They're bowling at batsmen who have grown up playing against spin. I'd say some of their guys are experts at it. They're going to take a lot from it.

"

Can England make history?

With two wickets already back in the hutch and Ben Stokes barely capable of holding a bat, the odds are clearly stacked against England.

And the sight of Pakistan's fielders crowding round the batsmen and piling the pressure on to their opposition will be a regular sight on Thursday.

If they are going to get anywhere near their target, England will most likely need one of Alastair Cook or Joe Root to go on and score a century. 

But if they go early, this could be wrapped up very quickly on Thursday.