England need eight wickets on day five to complete a stunning Test match victory, while Pakistan require a further 263 runs after Ben Stokes made a brave declaration in an attempt to force a result on a lifeless Rawalpindi pitch.
When England arrived in Pakistan, coach Brendon McCullum vowed they would play "an entertaining style of cricket which hopefully ends up in results, whether that's in our favour or in Pakistan's favour".
And they certainly followed through on that promise, scoring runs at record-breaking speed, trying everything imaginable to take wickets and even giving Pakistan a genuine chance of winning with their declaration.
Having claimed four important wickets in the final session on day three to keep their chances of winning alive, England picked up where they left off on day four as Will Jacks took the remaining three wickets inside the first session to give England a first innings lead of 78 runs.
Jacks ended with remarkable figures of 6-161 on debut, an incredibly impressive display from a player who had only taken four first-class wickets at the start of the year. In response, England once again showed great intent with the bat as they tried to move the game forward, smashing 264 runs in 35.5 overs at a run-rate of 7.36.
Zak Crawley set the tone with an excellent half-century, before Joe Root and Harry Brook took centre stage. Root showed his class with an outstanding 73 and even took to batting left-handed at one point, while Brook was much more destructive as he bludgeoned 87 off 65 balls.
Jacks also played an important cameo, striking three sixes as he made 24 off 13. When Brook was bowled by Naseem Shah 13 runs short of a second century in the match, England boldly decided to declare.
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Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)And after giving Pakistan a chance of winning, England could not have wished for a better start with the ball as Ollie Robinson and Stokes found success with a short-ball ploy. First innings centurion Abdullah Shafique holed out off Robinson for just six, while Azhar Ali retired hurt just two balls later after getting struck on the hand.
Stokes then took the massive wicket of opposite number Babar Azam, who was caught behind for four after helplessly fending at a short ball. The wicket left Pakistan shell shocked at 25-2 in the sixth over, but Imam-ul-Haq and Saud Shakeel were able to regroup.
The pair staged an unbeaten 55 run partnership, seeing Pakistan safely through to the close at 80-2. However, with Pakistan still scoring at a run-rate of four, fans look set for a fascinating final day's play with all results possible.
