Xplorich
England took control of the first Test against Pakistan on Thursday, finishing Day 2 on 366/8 and taking a first-innings lead of 195 runs at Headingley.Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jordan Cox and Dan Lawrence all scored half-centuries after England resumed from 112/2. Rain delayed the start of play by nearly four hours, but England’s batters made the most of the time available.Harry Brook, the world’s No. 1 Test batter, came closest to a century. Playing on his home ground, he scored 91 before left-arm spinner Ali Usman bowled him. Brook hit 13 fours during his innings. Usman finished with 5/92, the first five-wicket haul of his Test career.Brook had an early escape after being dropped on one by stand-in Pakistan captain Salman Agha at second slip. He made Pakistan pay before being dismissed with nine runs left for a hundred.Root and Cox added 150 runs for the third wicket after play resumed. Cox scored 73 in just his second Test, while Root made 66.Cox reached his first Test fifty before Root brought up the 109th fifty of his Test career. Root, who has scored more than 14,000 Test runs, was later trapped lbw by Khurram Shahzad after missing a straight delivery. He reviewed the decision, but replays showed the ball was hitting middle stump.Cox also missed out on a bigger score. He was dropped on 57 by Khurram Shahzad in a caught-and-bowled chance before edging Ali Usman behind.Dan Lawrence, playing his first Test in two years, added 51 runs in the middle order. England scored at 4.46 runs per over.Pakistan’s bowling and fielding struggled for long periods after the visitors were dismissed for 171 on the opening day.At stumps, wicketkeeper Jamie Smith was unbeaten on 16, while Jofra Archer was yet to score. England will begin Day 3 with a 195-run lead and two wickets in hand.
