England took total command of the second Test at Lord's after routing Pakistan for just 110 and extending their overall lead to 261 runs on Day 2.
England established complete control over the second Test against Pakistan at Lord's on Friday, building an imposing 261-run lead by the end of Day 2. The home side reached 81-3 in their second innings before bad light stopped play, following a clinical bowling performance that dismissed Pakistan for just 110 in the afternoon.
England's pace attack dismantled the visiting lineup in 37.2 overs. Ollie Robinson led the effort with figures of 4-11 from 13 overs, including six maidens. Jofra Archer returned 3-26 in a fast spell, while Josh Tongue claimed two wickets, including returning captain Babar Azam for 8. Commenting on the pacers' depth, Archer said, "It's unbelievable when everybody is fit and firing. Each day it will be someone else's turn."
Pakistan's only notable resistance came from opener Azan Awais, who battled for 46 off 102 balls before being caught on the boundary off Robinson. Awais's knock was the top score, with the second-highest contribution coming from 20 extras. Reflecting on his effort, Awais said, "I survived a good innings and built a little bit of my confidence."
Pakistan was handicapped by the loss of opener Imam-ul-Haq, who suffered a left calf strain on Thursday and will take no further part in the match. Shan Masood moved up the order to open in his place.
Earlier, England added 42 valuable runs to their overnight first-innings total of 248-9, reaching 290 behind a career-best 30 not out from Tongue and 45 from Gus Atkinson. In their second innings, England lost Ben Duckett and Jordan Cox to Khurram Shahzad, while Joe Root was trapped lbw by Mohammad Ali for 24. Emilio Gay (30 not out) and Harry Brook (7 not out) remained at the crease when play ended.
Reporting sourced from The Hindu Cricket. Photo courtesy The Hindu Cricket.