Abbas takes three wickets as Pakistan on top against England in second Test
- Last updated: August 27, 2026 | 18:03
Pakistan enjoyed a profitable first session as they reduced England to 80-4 on the opening day of the second Test at Lord's after a delayed start on Thursday.
Long-overdue rain in the capital put back the start and created muggy conditions that Pakistan's Muhammad Abbas capitalised on to shatter England's top order.
Abbas took three wickets for 34 runs with Mohammad Ali also chipping in with one shortly before the lunch interval.
Abbas made the breakthrough with the last ball of the third over with Muhammad Rizwan taking a superb diving catch behind the stumps as Emilio Gay glanced down the leg side.
Ben Duckett was Abbas's next victim by jagging a ball back that trapped him on his back foot and, despite not being given out on the field, Pakistan successfully reviewed.
Abbas then took the wicket of captain Joe Root, pinning him in front of his stumps to send England's talisman back to the pavilion for four.
Jordan Cox counter-attacked for the hosts to reach 27 not out at lunch from 29 balls. But when Harry Brook was bowled by an inswinger from Ali for 15 it was emphatically Pakistan's session.
Earlier, Pakistan captain Babar Azam won the toss and elected to field in the rain-delayed second Test against England at Lord's on Thursday.
Azam was absent as Pakistan suffered an innings and 103-run thrashing in last week's series opener at Headingley after aggravating a finger injury.
"We will bowl first because of the conditions," the 31-year-old batsman said. "The pitch has grass on it... "Now, I am 100 per cent (fit). That's why I am here. Good to go. Always an honour for us to play at Lord's, especially for me as a captain."
Azam was the only change to the Pakistan side, returning in place of stand-in skipper Salman Ali Agha.
England captain Joe Root, fresh from a convincing win in the first match of his second spell as full-time skipper, said: "We would've bowled first too, but saying that it looks a very different pitch to the last time we played here."
England, 1-0 up in a three-match contest, were unchanged following just their third win in 11 Tests.
"The all-round nature was most pleasing (at Headingley), the way we were so calm and the ability we had to recognise those moments," said Root.
"It wasn't absolutely perfect but it was a great blueprint and more of the same this week would be outstanding."
Victory at Lord's would give England their first Test series win since beating New Zealand in 2024.
England are dealing with the latest of several off-field incidents that have plagued the team in recent months.
Derbyshire Police said late on Wednesday they were looking into "allegations of assault," after an incident that saw England fast bowler Brydon Carse handcuffed outside a nightclub over the weekend and subsequently dropped from the squad.
Teams
England: Ben Duckett, Emilio Gay, Jordan Cox, Joe Root (capt), Harry Brook, Dan Lawrence, Jamie Smith (wkt), Gus Atkinson, Ollie Robinson, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue
Pakistan: Azan Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Shan Masood, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam (capt), Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wkt), Ali Usman, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Abbas
Umpires: Allahuddien Paleker (RSA), Paul Reiffel (AUS)
TV umpire: Chris Gaffaney (NZL)
Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (SRI)
Agence France-Presse