Root’s second term begins with confident win over Pakistan
England defeated Pakistan by an innings and 103 runs to take a 1-0 lead in their ongoing series at home.
Joe Root’s second tenure as full-time England Test captain, began with a stellar display against Pakistan, where the team aced all aspects of the game to secure an innings win. The victory also gave England key ICC World Test Championship 2025-27 points and helped them improve their point percentage.
On the other hand, Pakistan have slipped below the West Indies and sit at the bottom of the WTC Standings with a point percentage of 19.05.
Struck by the absence of regular skipper Babar Azam, Pakistan never got going in the Test, being bowled out for 171 after being asked to bat first. Ollie Robinson (5/51) and Josh Tongue (5/46) were the architects of their downfall.
Four fifties from England’s middle-order including Jordan Cox (73), Joe Root (66), Harry Brook (91) and Dan Lawrence (51) led their charge in the first innings as the hosts had secured a 238-run advantage by the beginning of the third day. Ali Usman’s 5/95 was the best performance from the Pakistan perspective.
Pakistan’s second innings began in a similar fashion to their first, with England’s Jofra Archer (3/50) and Ollie Robinson (3/29) running through their top-order before Josh Tongue (3/43) entered the scene to rattle their middle-order.
Pakistan managed to cross the 100-run mark but there was no respite from the England bowlers, with Robinson running through the tail.
Jofra Archer and Gus Atkinson (1/11) finished off the job as Mohammad Rizwan was the only batter who showed some resistance, with his 41.
Robinson was the Player of the Match for his figures of 8/80 in the Test.
The two teams will now meet at Lord's for the second Test of the series, starting on 27 August.