Pakistan lose Ali, Sohail in quest for first innings lead

Pakistan are 136/3 when players took break for lunch on the second morning of the Lord’s Test.

Pakistan resumed their innings at 50/1 with their unbeaten overnight pair of Azhar Ali and Haris Sohail. The duo successfully negotiated the first hour of play ensuring that England did not get any early wickets, which they desperately craved for.

The English pacers were keen on bowling a fuller length but occasionally over compensated by going too full and consequently presenting Pakistan with easy opportunities to keep the scoreboard moving.

A few minutes before the drinks break, Joe Root switched to a slightly different strategy by asking Mark Wood to bowl a slightly shorter length in order to get Pakistan batsmen out of their comfort zone. The tactics worked brilliantly as Wood cunningly outfoxed Haris Sohail by slipping in a good length delivery which nipped away from the batsman, taking the edge of his bat and handing England their first wicket of the day.

Ali looked set for a big one but fell to James Anderson immediately after scoring his 28^th half-century. He was adjudged LBW on a ball which dipped in and struck him on the front pad.

At the end of the session, Asad Shafiq was unbeaten on 28 while Babar Azam had scored 8 runs. Pakistan are now 48 runs adrift of England’s first innings total of 184.