England have reached 135-3 at tea on day two of the third and final Test in Sharjah, as they trail Pakistan by 99 runs with seven wickets in hand.
Having lost Moeen Ali during the morning session, Trevor Bayliss's side were looking to continue to add runs with captain Alastair Cook and Ian Bell at the crease.
However, Cook fell in the fourth over after lunch one run short of another half-century when he was caught by Azhar Ali off the bowling of Yasir Shah.
England looked to be in trouble as Joe Root was dismissed for four shortly after. The batsman attempted to play at a slightly wider ball from Rahat Ali, but it glanced off the outside edge of the bat and Sarfraz Ahmed got down low to take the catch, leaving Cook's men on 97-3.
James Taylor, who was making his first Test appearance for three years, joined Bell in the middle and the pair set about preventing another batting collapse.
They took the side past 100 and continued to add runs at a steady rate, with Nottinghamshire man Taylor showing no signs of nerves on his return to the Test arena.
Their patient approach guided England through to tea with no further losses, and they will resume in the evening session with Bell on 40 and Taylor on 26.
