Pakistan win toss, elect to bowl first in Lord’s Test against England

Pakistan won the toss and elected to bowl first in the second Test of the three-match series against England at Lord’s on Thursday.

LONDON: Pakistan won the toss and elected to bowl first in the second Test of the three-match series against England at Lord’s on Thursday.

Playing XIs

England: Ben Duckett, Emilio Gay, Jordan Cox, Joe Root (c), Harry Brook, Dan Lawrence, Jamie Smith (wk), Ollie Robinson, Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer and Josh Tongue.

Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Azan Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Shan Masood, Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakeel, Ali Usman, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Ali and Mohammad Abbas.

The match marks Pakistan’s return to England for a Test series since 2020. The two teams last met in a three-Test series five years ago, with England winning 1-0 while the other two matches ended in draws.

Pakistan have not won a Test series in England since 1996, when Wasim Akram’s side secured a 2-1 victory. That was Pakistan’s third consecutive Test series win in England, following victories under Imran Khan’s side in 1987 and Javed Miandad’s team in 1992.

England and Pakistan have faced each other 93 times in Test cricket. England have won 31 matches, Pakistan have won 23, while 39 encounters have ended in draws