Iqbal celebrated his recall with an accomplished innings

India will have to bat the best part of two days to draw the series in Pakistan after the hosts dominated the finale in Karachi for the third consecutive day.

Pakistan ended on 511-5, to lead by 518, with Faisal Iqbal completing his maiden Test century just before stumps.

Stand-in captain Younis Khan (77) and Mohammad Yousuf (97) took their stand to 158 before Anil Kumble got them lbw.

But Shahid Afridi (60), Iqbal (103) and Abdul Razzaq (44) kept up the pressure and India need something special now.

The pitch has flattened out considerably since 14 wickets fell on the first day, with little assistance for the bowlers.

However, the home side will fancy their chances of following up their triumph over England and beating their neighbours in a Test series for the first time in 19 years.

The world record for a successful fourth-innings chase is the 418 West Indies made to beat Australia in Antigua in 2003, while the highest at the National Stadium is the 315 Pakistan got against the Aussies in 1994.

Younis and Yousuf set the tone for the day by notching up their fourth century partnership of the series, and looked set to add to their tally of two hundreds apiece when they took Pakistan to lunch on 270-2.

Kumble removed them both with straightish deliveries, although Yousuf had the consolation of moving to fourth on the list of Pakistan run-scorers.

Younis and Yousuf put Pakistan in a strong position

If the Indians thought they had earned themselves a respite they were wrong as Afridi mixed unusual caution with an array of powerful drives and pulls.

First-innings hat-trick hero Irfan Pathan came in for some particularly rough treatment as he completed his fifty with a six over mid-wicket.

A mis-hit pull to Sachin Tendulkar at deep mid-on off Rudra Pratap Singh aborted his innings just as it was gathering irresistible momentum.

However, Iqbal - nephew of Javed Miandad - dug in with Razzaq before they helped themselves to a late flurry of boundaries.

It is fantastic the way Pakistan has come back from three wickets down to this stage From H Have your say on TMS

A lovely straight six from Razzaq was a highlight, as was the authoritative pull from Iqbal - both off the unhappy Kumble - which brought up the 24-year-old's first Test ton off 190 balls.

It completed a miserable day for the Indians, who will cling to the benevolence of the wicket and some handy batsmen as their hopes of avoiding defeat.