By close of play, Pakistan had laboured to 244 for six wickets before bad light forced the umpires to halt play with 14 balls still remaining to complete the 90-over per day requirement.
Inzamamul Haq, the Pakistan captain, was still there in the middle and carrying the fight to England with a resolute 41 in a two-hour battle of survival.
With a new ball, still hard and shiny after it was taken at the start of the 84th over, to confront first thing on Sunday, Inzamam knows the uncomfortable situation in which his team now stands.
It was a script which did not go as planned by the Pakistan team management after Shoaib Malik and Salman Butt vindicated Inzamam’s decision to bat first on a pitch promising a first-innings total in excess of 400.
England’s recovery was led by Andrew Flintoff, who scalped two of the five wickets which fell to the pace bowlers on a relatively flat strip.
But it was Shaun Udal, the off-spinner making his Test debut at the age of 36, who set up the grand comeback with the important wicket of Salman Butt.
Salman, the day’s top-scorer with 74, was out in an unconventional manner when Marcus Trescothick, the stand-in England captain standing at slip, had palmed the wild slash from the opener in the air.
Geraint Jones, the wicket-keeper, had the presence of mind to dive backwards to clutch the ball in his gloves before it could hit the ground.
It heralded a crucial phase during which England bowlers snatched four wickets in 54 balls as Pakistan lost ground from an imposing position of 161 for one to 183 for five on either side of the tea interval.
Udal summoned up the newfound confidence that served England so brilliantly during the triumphant Ashes series not long ago.
“It (the fightback) showed the character of this England side especially after Pakistan had got off to a flying start.
“Never for a moment we lost faith among ourselves and just hoped for a breakthrough which could lead us out of the hole,” he said shortly afterwards.
The Hampshire spinner did not expect to get his maiden wicket in such a manner.
“Yeah, I would have dearly wanted to claim my first Test wicket in a conventional way. I never knew what had happened after Marcus parried away the ball.
“All I saw was Geraint diving before realizing my dream had come true.”
Shortly afterwards, Mohammad Yousuf misjudged a full-length delivery from the impressive Flintoff and yorked himself for five.
Younis Khan, who was shaping up nicely until the tea break, was despatched to the dressing-room first ball after the interval, trapped leg-before-wicket by Steve Harmison for a solid 39.
The stage was then set for Hasan Raza to prove a point in his comeback appearance after a three-year gap.
But having faced a mere four deliveries, the 23-year-old right-hander played all over the ball to give Harmison two wickets in the same over.
At 183 for five, the innings was on the verge of total capitulation.
However, Inzamam slowly becalmed the nerves of his new partner Kamran Akmal.
The end was a defiant sixth-wicket partnership of 55 before Matthew Hoggard forced an ill-advised shot from the Pakistan wicket-keeper while Trescothick at first slip pouched the catch gleefully.
Kamran’s contribution was 28 in 81 minutes of resistance.
The game started on a hazy note in mildly cool conditions as the sun played hide and seek in the first 90 minutes of the first session once umpire Simon Taufel called ‘play’ at 9.30am.
Malik and Salman, Pakistan’s newest opening combination, strode out to take on Hoggard and Harmison after Inzamam had beaten Trescothick on the spin of the coin.
Malik got off the mark almost immediately by cutting Hoggard to the point boundary.
Salman took 12 balls to open his account with an imperious cover-driven off Harmison.
But it was Malik who outscored his partner in making 31 of the first 50 runs, raised in 71 minutes, before Salman started to blossom with a few handsome drives, notably through the off-side.
But the stroke of the first hour was played by Malik who deftly nudged Hoggard down the ground to the straight boundary in a flash.
The Sialkot-born all-rounder found no terror either in the pitch or the bowling, which was anything but menacing.
Opening a Test innings only for the third time, Malik was adjudged leg-before-wicket when he played back and across to Flintoff.
The TV replays suggested that umpire Billy Bowden may have erred in making his verdict since the ball was heading upwards and would have missed the top of the middle and leg stumps.
Malik’s 39 off 71 balls, which contained five boundaries, had provided Pakistan an ideal start with the first-wicket adding 80 in 116 minutes.
Younis and Salman continued to prosper by taking the score to 103 in the extended 150-minute first session of play and carried on the good work for the best part of the afternoon period until Udal rekindled England’s hopes.
Salman, who desperately sought a century, laced his 130-ball knock with 11 hits the fence in a stay of five minutes short of four hours.
Scoreboard
Pakistan (1st innings):
Shoaib Malik lbw b Flintoff 39
Salman Butt c Jones b Udal 74
Younis Khan lbw b Harmison 39
Mohammad Yousuf b Flintoff 5
Inzamamul Haq not out 41
Hasan Raza b Harmison 0
Kamran Akmal c Trescothick b Hoggard 28
Mohammad Sami not out 1
Extras (lb7, nb10) 17
Total (for six wickets, 87.4 overs) 244
Fall of wkts: 1-80, 2-161, 3-166,4 -181, 5-183, 6-238.
Bowling: Hoggard 17-3-45-1, Harmison 16-5-37-2, Flintoff 17.4-5-49-2, Collingwood 4-1-15-0, Giles 16-3-44-0, Udal 17-3-47-1.
Umpires: Simon Taufel (AUS) and Billy Bowden (NZL)
TV umpire: Asad Rauf (PAK)
Match-referee: Roshan Mahanama (SRI)