England sealed a series triumph over Pakistan with a dominant 194-run victory in the second Test at Lord’s on Sunday. Chasing an unlikely target of 289, Pakistan were bowled out for 194 on the fourth day, handing England an unassailable 2-0 advantage in the three-match series. Saud Shakeel narrowly missed a century, falling for 97 to Josh Tongue. Earlier, England had been dismissed for 208 in their second innings, setting Pakistan a daunting target of 389. Rain had cut short Day 3 prematurely, with England holding a 357-run lead and Dan Lawrence (50*) and Ollie Robinson (2*) still at the crease. England’s bowlers took away the game from Pakistan and sealed the test series with a breathtaking performance.
TOSS
Pakistan won the toss and elected to field.
PLAYING XI
Pakistan (Playing XI):
Imam-ul-Haq, Azan Awais, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood, Babar Azam (c), Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (w), Ali Usman, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali
England (Playing XI):
Ben Duckett, Emilio Gay, Jordan Cox, Joe Root (c), Harry Brook, Dan Lawrence, Jamie Smith (w), Ollie Robinson, Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue
DAY 1
Rain wiped out nearly the entire first session, but Pakistan, led by a returning Babar Azam, chose to bowl in favorable overcast conditions. The gloomy skies played right into Abbas’s hands, as he tied the hosts in knots through the opening hour and a half.
Duckett and Gay started with confidence on what appeared to be a sluggish surface, playing their drives freely—but Gay’s innings ended in the fifth over, caught brilliantly by a diving Mohammad Rizwan off a tickle down leg side. That scalp was the first of three for Abbas in the opening session, with the other two being far superior deliveries.
Two overs on, Duckett was pinned in his crease by a delivery that angled in and stayed low. A review confirmed the decision, handing Abbas his remarkable 900th first-class wicket.
Joe Root walked in, playing his 25th Test at this famous ground. Standing well outside his crease to combat Abbas’s movement, Root navigated a tense period of play. Rizwan positioned himself up to the stumps, and a couple of close shouts followed. Pakistan’s seamers had already induced 19 false shots in the first ten overs—and shortly after, Abbas landed the biggest blow, trapping Root in front with a sharp in-swinger.
Jordan Cox joined Harry Brook and immediately looked full of intent, charging to 27 off just 29 deliveries heading into lunch. Mohammad Ali then produced a stunning delivery to clean up Brook, rounding off the first session in style—and he had more tricks up his sleeve for the evening.
Cox continued building steadily towards his fifty while Jamie Smith started cautiously at the other end. On 19, Smith was put down by Rizwan, much to Ali’s frustration. That reprieve sparked a 15-ball burst that yielded six boundaries for England. By tea, Cox had eased off the accelerator while Smith had quietly made his way to 44 off 53 balls.
Smith brought up his half-century without too much fuss, though Cox couldn’t push beyond 55, caught brilliantly by substitute fielder Salman Agha. Atkinson and Cox kept the boundaries flowing before Ali dragged Pakistan back with a devastating two-wicket over — first removing Smith, then rattling Robinson with a sharp nip-backer two deliveries later.
Abbas joined in shortly after, cleaning up Jofra Archer, who had already launched Ali Usman for a six and attempted the same against the standout bowler of the day.
Fading light halted play with 50 minutes remaining, and no further action was possible as stumps were drawn after just 56 overs.
DAY 2
England resumed on 248 for 9, and their last-wicket pair of Atkinson and Tongue frustrated Pakistan’s pacers through much of the morning session, stretching their stand to 47 runs. It was only the introduction of spin that broke through, with Atkinson miscuing a drive against Ali Usman and lobbing a catch to long-off. Tongue, batting at number 11, struck four crisp boundaries on his way to an unbeaten 30, giving England valuable late momentum heading into Pakistan’s reply.
For Pakistan, only Awais and Saud Shakeel reached double figures, the latter cracking four boundaries in a lively 16. A 33-run stand between those two, followed by a 28-run partnership linking Awais and Rizwan, offered the only stretches of relative comfort against England’s pacers. Collapse bracketed both those partnerships.
Things started unravelling when Archer had Shan Masood caught behind in the fourth over, and they ended when the same bowler cleaned up Mohammad Abbas for two. Robinson was the chief destroyer in between, tearing through the middle order with a four-wicket haul across a miserly 13-over spell that yielded less than a run per over. Among his victims was Awais, who had battled for nearly four hours to prop up Pakistan’s innings before attempting to go on the offensive and holing out to Gay in the deep, agonizingly four runs short of a fifty.
Sitting on a 180-run first-innings advantage, England were already well-placed heading into their second essay. However, Khurram Shahzad quickly clawed some momentum back. Duckett chased a wide one and was caught at extra cover, while Cox was caught plumb in front after a brisk 11.
Root briefly settled things in Gay’s company before being cheaply dismissed for the second time in the match, Mohammad Ali finding the gap to crash into his pads. That proved to be Pakistan’s final success of the day. Despite bowling in helpful conditions, they struggled to create the edges they needed. Gay remained composed at the crease, and Brook dug in long enough to carry England safely through to Day Three with seven wickets still standing.
DAY 3
Emilio Gay, who had impressed with his composure on Friday, fell early once play finally got underway—more than four hours behind schedule owing to persistent rain and a waterlogged outfield. The English opener was dismissed lbw for 31, undone by a Mohammad Abbas delivery that kept dangerously low after pitching.
Harry Brook struck a couple of boundaries before the weather intervened once more. The pair resumed after a brief 15-minute delay, but the constant interruptions on Saturday left England’s batters unable to find any real rhythm. Abbas struck again, drawing Brook into an edge behind the wicket with a delivery that moved sharply off the seam.
While Lawrence continued to attack—taking on Mohammad Ali and dispatching him for a boundary and a six off back-to-back deliveries—Abbas remained relentless from the opposite end. Jamie Smith was pounced on at square leg before another downpour forced an early tea.
On the restart, Ali made an immediate impact as Gus Atkinson was pinned lbw off the third delivery of the final session. Lawrence, however, showed no signs of timidity. He danced down the pitch against Ali Usman, heaving him over deep midwicket for a four before clearing the rope in the same area. He reached his half-century in the following over before rain washed out the remainder of the day’s play.
DAY 4
Pakistan needed little time to polish off England’s innings on the fourth morning. Half-centurion Dan Lawrence began confidently, threading a boundary through point, while Ollie Robinson pulled Mohammad Ali for his first four. However, a sharp inswinger from Mohammad Abbas clipped the top of Lawrence’s off-stump shortly after, handing the hosts a precious early wicket. Abbas then coaxed an outside edge from Robinson with a delivery that moved away off the pitch, completing a richly deserved five-wicket haul. Josh Tongue chipped in with a couple of boundaries, but a run-out ended proceedings abruptly, leaving England short of a 400-run lead.
Signs of Pakistan’s vulnerability, though, emerged as early as the fifth over of their chase. Robinson first had Azan Awais trapped in front before producing a brilliant delivery that crashed through Abdullah Shafique’s defense and rattled the off-stump, sending him back for a duck in the same over. Things deteriorated rapidly when Jofra Archer struck two overs later, removing the prized scalp of Babar Azam. A half-hearted attempt to leave a short-pitched delivery left Babar in all sorts of trouble, with Jordan Cox pouching a straightforward catch in the slip cordon.
Saud Shakeel and Shan Masood weathered a demanding spell before lunch. Both were beaten outside off-stump on several occasions, though they managed to plunder a few boundaries and, crucially, survived until the interval. England squandered two reviews during this period in their eagerness to wrap things up. After the break, however, Shakeel batted with renewed intent, keeping England at bay for a considerable stretch alongside Masood. He raced to a fifty off just 54 deliveries, and shortly afterwards, rain forced both sides off the field for nearly 40 minutes.
On resumption, Robinson once again made the key breakthrough, ending Masood’s gritty resistance. Mohammad Rizwan followed him back to the pavilion, trapped lbw by Robinson while attempting an ambitious slog. With five wickets down and Imam-ul-Haq ruled unfit to bat, the match was effectively over. Ali Usman dug in for 44 balls before dragging an Archer delivery onto his stumps, which appeared to spark something in Shakeel, who launched two sixes in a single Tongue over in pursuit of his century. Heartbreakingly, that aggressive approach proved his undoing—he top-edged to a fielder in the deep just three runs shy of a hundred, as Tongue cleaned up the tail to bring Pakistan’s resistance to a close.
Brief Scores:
England 290 (Jamie Smith 61; Mohammad Abbas 4-73) & 208 (Dan Lawrence 54; Mohammad Abbas 5-57) beat Pakistan 110 (Azan Awais 46; Ollie Robinson 4-11) & 194 (Saud Shakeel 97; Ollie Robinson 4-24) by 194 runs.
About the Author
