England were made to toil for two sessions in the desert on day two of the first Test against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi, but fought back strongly after tea with ball and bat.
Shoaib Malik scored a career-best 245 as Pakistan amassed 523 for eight, but England's bowlers finished the innings on a high by taking four quick wickets.
And that momentum carried into their first innings with the bat, as Moeen Ali and Alastair Cook shared an unbeaten stand of 56 in their first innings together as Test openers to reduce the deficit to 467 by stumps.
Malik shared 248 with centurion Asad Shafiq in a record fifth-wicket stand for Pakistan against England as the tourists went two sessions without a wicket.
But Mark Wood trapped Shafiq lbw for 107 - he had been dropped on 10 at second slip late last night - and Ben Stokes swiftly ousted Sarfraz Ahmed for two.
England's discipline and determination had been admirable on the opening day, as they took four wickets in idyllic batting conditions as well as spurning three good chances.
Those errors in the field proved costly as Malik - who was caught off a Stuart Broad no-ball on 40 - and Shafiq moved the score along with little alarm for much of day two.
Malik - playing his first Test since 2010 - played the more aggressive role, clearing the rope four times including a glorious straight hit down the ground off Stokes.
He was one of four wickets to fall swiftly after tea, suffering a bout of cramp shortly before hitting Stokes to Ian Bell to end his 420-ball vigil.
Zulfiqar Babar was also out attempting to slog Stokes, who after bowling an over of off-spin earlier in the day managed to finish with 4-57 with his more distinguished fast-medium bowling.
That mini collapse prompted Misbah-ul-Haq to declare, and England suffered an early scare when captain Cook almost played the second ball of the innings from Rahat Ali into his stumps.
From then on Cook was the more settled of England's opening pair, making 39 from 62 balls with a series of trademark nudges and nurdles.
Moeen had a couple of close shaves of his own - Rahat unsuccessfully reviewed an lbw shout, Wahab Riaz beat his outside edge and Imran Khan was unlucky to see a delivery which caught the shoulder of the bat land in a vacant short gully area.
But by the close the off-spinning all-rounder had moved on to 15 not out as Pakistan's bowlers got a taste of the batting paradise which England's bowlers had been fighting for the best part of two days.
England face Pakistan in Cardiff at the end of next summer, in the final game of the Royal London One-Day Series at The SSE SWALEC. For ticket details click here