A day that started with Pakistan needing to wrap up England's tail cheaply ended with Pakistan themselves in ruins. Day 2 of the 2nd Test at Lord's swung hard in England's favour: Pakistan were bowled out for just 110, and by the close England had stretched their lead to 261 with two days still on the clock.
Resuming on 248/9, England's last pair added a further 42 runs before the innings folded for 290 — a useful if unspectacular top-up that turned a merely competitive score into a genuinely testing one. It meant Pakistan, who had bowled with real discipline through Day 1 via Mohammad Abbas and Mohammad Ali, had to start their reply against a total north of 280.
What followed was Pakistan's worst batting session of the series. Ollie Robinson took 4/11 off 13 overs, including six maidens, with Jofra Archer (3/26) and Josh Tongue (2/27) sharing the rest of the damage on a pitch offering plenty of seam movement. Azan Awais top-scored with 46 and Saud Shakeel added 16, but no one else reached double figures as the innings folded for 110 in 37.2 overs — nine wickets down, with opener Imam-ul-Haq unable to bat after a calf injury.
It leaves Pakistan's batting as the clear problem across both Tests so far: 171 and 135 at Leeds, now 110 at Lord's. Bowling attacks on both sides have largely done their jobs; it is bat on ball that has let Pakistan down repeatedly.
A first-innings lead of 180 sits just under the 200-run follow-on threshold for a Test of this length, so England were never actually choosing between enforcing the follow-on and batting again — the margin decided it for them. They closed the day on 81/3, with Emilio Gay unbeaten on 30 and Harry Brook not out on 7, taking the overall lead to 261 heading into Day 3.
Realistically, Pakistan need two things: a much sharper effort with the ball to restrict England's second-innings scoring, and then a batting performance that bears no resemblance to their first. A lead approaching or beyond 350 would leave Pakistan chasing a total no side has come close to in this series, on a pitch that has already shown it can be unforgiving. Babar Azam's own form with the bat — quiet so far since his return to the captaincy — is now as important a subplot as the bowling figures.
With the match now heavily tilted, every session from here matters for the series outcome. Track ball-by-ball score changes and win-probability shifts on SportGod's live matches page, and check AI predictions for how the model reads Pakistan's chances from here.
Scores and bowling figures verified against same-day coverage of Day 2 play at Lord's, current through the close of play on August 29, 2026.
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