England lost a flurry of wickets as they chased 277 for victory over Pakistan on the fourth day of the first test on Saturday, but Jos Buttler and Chris wakes launched a counter-attack before tea to leave the game excitingly balanced.
The hosts fell from 86-1 to 117-5 as some superb bowling gave Pakistan a stranglehold in the middle of the day, but Buttler and wakes then put on 50 from 49 balls to speed the score up to 167-5.
England still needs 110 runs to record the second-most successful fourth-innings run chase ever at old Trafford.
Pakistan started the day on 137-8 in their second innings but made another 32 runs to be fully fit for 169, setting England a tough target on a pitch offering pace, bounce, and spin.
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Mohammad Abbas caught opener Rory burns lbw for 10 early on and England crept to 55-1 at lunch before skipper Joe root and Dom Sibley dug in to give England a solid platform.
Sibley showed great patience, reaching the age of 36, but paid the price for a rash shot when he tried to push off Yasser Shah's leg spinner and was tackled by Asad Shafiq at slip.
Root raced to 42, but just when he looked set for a big score, he fell to the superbly directed serve of teenager Naseem Shah, the ball snagging on the joint of the bat and being held by Babar Azam at first slip.
It looked even better for Pakistan when Yasir wriggled out of a rough situation to have Ben Stokes caught behind the stumps by Mohammad Rizwan after England's dangerman was initially not given out by the on-field umpire.
Stokes led England to an astonishing one-wicket victory over Australia from a seemingly hopeless position with a brilliant century in the third Ashes test last year, but here he failed twice, getting a duck and 4.
To confirm Stokes ' dismissal, a test of Pakistan was required-a bold decision by captain Azhar Ali after the tourists had squandered a test against Stokes a few minutes earlier.
Olly Pope could do nothing about his dismissal when Shaheen Afridi produced an unplayable ball that rose sharply in length, caught his glove, and looped over Shadab Khan at gully.
England was in a hole, but Buttler and workers went into the one-day mode and started peppering the boundaries, creating what could have been a thrilling final session of the day.
While Pakistan remain favorites, England still has a chance of the most successful chase at old Trafford since they made 294 to beat New Zealand in 2008.
Only twice has a team chased more than 200 to win here in the fourth innings, when England reached 231-3 against the West Indies in 2004.
Yasser previously led a tailend rally in which 32 runs were added in just 16 balls before his team was dismissed. He struck a quick 33 from 24 balls, which included consecutive boundaries from fast bowler Jofra Archer and a six from Stuart broad.
in the post-tea session on Friday, woakes (2-11) took an early wicket, picking up Azhar (18) and dangerman Babar (5), but was only used for five overs in root's second innings.
Stokes, who did not play in the first innings with a Quad injury, dismissed Rizwan (27) in what was an important break at the end.
Board
Pakistan (1st innings) 326 (Shan Masood 156, Babar Azam 69, Shadab Khan 45; S. C. J. Broad 3-54, J. C. Archer 3-59).
England (1st innings) 219 (O. J. Pope 62; Yasir Shah 4-66).
Pakistan (2nd innings, night 137-8):
Shane Masood s Buttler b broad 0
Abid Ali c Woakes b Bess 20
Azhar Ali lbw b Woakes 18
Babar Azam c Stokes b Woakes 5
Asad Shafiq ended 29
Mohammad Rizwan lbw b Stokes 27
Shadab Khan PVR b wide 15
Yasir Shah with Buttler b wide 33
Shaheen Shah Afridi C burns b Stokes 2
Mohammad Abbas not out 3
Nasim Shah-B class: Archer 4
ADDITIONAL SERVICES (B-8, LB-1, NB-4) 13
Total (all out, 46.4 frames) 169
WKTS DROP: 1-6, 2-33, 3-48, 4-63, 5-101, 6-120, 7-122, 8-137, 9-158.
Bowling: Anderson 9-2-34-0( 1nb); broad 10-3-37-3 (1nb); Archer 6.4-0-27-1 (1nb); Bess 12-2-40-1; woakes 5-1-11-2; Stokes 4-1-11-2 (1nb).
England (2nd innings):
J. R. burns PVR b Abbas 10
D. P. Sibley s Asad b Yasser 36
Zh. kornevoy E. Z. Nasim Babar b 42
A. B. Stokes s Rizwan b Yasir 9
O. J. Pope s Shadab b Shaheen 7
ZZ, the Butler is not 32
C. R. Woakes not out 26
ADDITIONAL SERVICES (LB-2, NB-3) 5
Total (for five wkts, 53 frames) 167
WKTS DROP: 1-22, 2-86, 3-96, 4-106, 5-117.
Bowling (to date): Shaheen Shah Afridi 10-1-38-1 (2nb); Mohammad Abbas 11-4-23-1 (1nb); Nazim Shah 10-4-24-1; Yasir Shah 20-2-74-2; Shadab Khan 2-0-6-0
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