DUBAI: England were set an improbable target of 324 runs to win the third and final Test and avoid the humiliation of a first-ever series whitewash at the hands of
Pakistan here at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
Needing to chase their second best achieved target in all Tests of 324, England finished the third day at 36-0, with openers Andrew Strauss (19) and Alastair Cook (15) playing out the tricky 20 overs on an eased out pitch.
They still need another 288 runs with all ten wickets intact in the last two days. England's most successful chase to win a Test was the 332 they made against Australia in Melbourne in 1929.
Azhar Ali hit a career-best 157 and Younis Khan's 127 in Pakistan's second innings total of 365.
Azhar Ali was the ninth player to be out after playing a long innings of 533 minutes during which he hit ten fours and a six.
Monty Panesar took five and Graeme Swann finished with three wickets.
Pakistan were bowled out for 99 in their first innings and can become the first team to win a Test after being bowled out for under 100 since England, dismissed for 76 in the first innings, beat South Africa by 53 runs at Leeds in 1907.
It will need an extraordinary effort from the England batsmen who lost the first Test here by ten wickets and the second by 72 runs in Abu Dhabi after their batting flopped against Pakistani spinners Saeed Ajmal and Abdul Rehman.
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