Pakistan dominates at Lord's, England in trouble on the first day due to Abbas's batting

Pakistan finally had a day of relief on their tour of England. The visitors took full advantage of the cloudy skies and pace-friendly conditions on the first day of the second Test at Lord's. Experienced pacer Mohammad Abbas put England in batting first and then put England in the early stages of the innings.

Abbas put England under pressure early by taking 3 wickets for 4 runs in just 16 balls. England captain Joe Root was among his victims. The experienced batsman returned to the dressing room for 4 runs. At one stage, England were in big trouble after losing 3 wickets for 36 runs.

However, Jamie Smith and Jordan Cox turned the team around from there. The hosts managed to overcome the first day's disaster with the fifties of both of them. England had scored 248 runs for 9 wickets in 56 overs when the match ended early due to poor light. Smith scored 61, Cox scored 55 runs.

Abbas was the most successful bowler for Pakistan. He took 4 wickets for 56 runs. He was well supported by Mohammad Ali, who took 3 wickets and cost 67 runs.

Pakistan, who were trailing in the series after losing the first Test at Headingley by an innings and 103 runs, made a change to their XI at Lord's. Regular captain Babar Azam returned to the team after recovering from a finger injury. Interim captain Salman Ali Agha was dropped from the XI to make way for him.

The English batsmen were uncomfortable with Abbas' controlled bowling from the start on the green wicket at Lord's. Harry Brook was also out before the team's run count crossed 80. He returned to Abbas's bowling for 15 runs.

However, England put up some resistance after the lunch break. Jordan Cox and Jamie Smith put up a 67-run partnership. The two batted temporarily to bring relief to the home team.

Towards the end of the day, Geoffrey Archer also tried to be aggressive. However, he could not last long after hitting Abbas for a six. In the end, Archer returned as a victim of Abbas.

Gus Atkinson, who scored a century at Lord's, is unbeaten on 34 runs at the end of the day. At the other end is the last wicket batsman. As a result, Pakistan's goal on the second day will be to quickly end England's innings and create a good position with the bat.