England batters take control after seamers bowl Pakistan out cheaply

Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes took two wickets each as England reduced Pakistan to 68 for four by lunch on the opening day of the second and final Test.

After bowling Pakistan out for a paltry 174, England batsmen gave a solid reply by reducing the deficit to 68 runs at stumps on Day 1 of the second Test at Leeds.

England went to stumps at 106 for 2 with captain Joe Root unbeaten on 29 with nightwatchman Dominic Bess(0) for company.

England lost Cook (46) at the fag end of Day 1 but still held a healthy upper hand, staging a strong comeback after falling 0-1 down in the two-match Test series.

TEA REPORT

It started with Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes and ended with James Anderson. With their backs against the wall, England fast bowlers came roaring out and knocked down the resurgent Pakistan batting line-up for 174 on Day of the second Test match at Leeds.

Resuming at 68 for 4, Pakistan lost captain Sarfraz Ahmed right after lunch. More than the beauty of the delivery, it was the ugliness of the shot that brought about the downfall of the Pakistan captain for 14. Young Salahuddin and Faheem Ashraf fell in successive overs to Broad and Anderson and Pakistan were on the brink, in great danger of getting bowled out under 100 on Day 1 of the Test match.

After the humiliating loss in Lords test match England bowlers are back with the vengeance ... #ENGvPAK pic.twitter.com/ul2pTPaMuj

— Arnab Mukherjee (@ArnabMu72704073) June 1, 2018

Leg spinner Shadab Khan then came as the saving grace for Pakistan. His 52-ball 56 took Pakistan past the 150-run mark and gave them something to fight in the second Test.

But the first two sessions was all about the comeback of the England fast bowlers, who received a lot of flak for ineffectiveness in the first Test at Lord’s

Both Broad and Anderson were seen bowling in full tilt in the first session and they were ably supported by Woakes. All three of them returned with three wickets a piece.

LUNCH REPORT

Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes took two wickets each as England reduced Pakistan to 68 for four by lunch on the opening day of the second and final Test.

England's pacemen bowled a fuller length than they did in a nine-wicket loss in the first Test at Lord's, and were getting their rewards at Headingley.

In a terrific opening spell, Broad removed Imam-ul-Haq (0), who edged to Joe Root at third slip, and Azhar Ali (2), who was trapped lbw, to leave Pakistan 17/2.

Woakes was the first change after 14 penetrating overs from Broad and James Anderson, and the recalled allrounder enticed edges from Haris Sohail (28) and Asad Shafiq (27) to the slip cordon.

Having won the toss, Pakistan was struggling to deal with England's swing movement under grey skies. Debutant Usman Salahuddin, in for injured batsman Babar Azam, was 3 not out and Sarfraz Ahmed was unbeaten on 6.

Broad had figures of 2-23 off nine overs, while Woakes had 2-17 off six overs.

Needing a victory to avoid a third straight series loss, England was without star allrounder Ben Stokes because of a hamstring injury sustained in training on Wednesday. Sam Curran, a 19-year-old left-arm swing bowler, earned his first cap as a replacement.

England wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow passed a fitness test on the morning of the match to take his place in the team, and Alastair Cook set a record by playing in his 154th straight test - surpassing a milestone he shared with former Australia captain Allan Border.