The English Batting lineup was completely exposed by the Pakistani bowlers and in particular by the impressive Yasir Shah who was the pick of the blowers with his 5 wickets Haul. Mohammad Amir also impressed on his return to the Lords after the Infamous fixing scandal by picking a valuable wicket for his team along with Rahat Ali who also ended the day with a wicket but surprisingly Wahab Riaz was not able to take a single wicket for his team.
How the day went
The day Started and England bowlers quickly wrapped up the tail end of Pakistan’s batting line up by picking four wickets with ease in the first hour and in process Chris Woakes achieved his Career’s best figures when he picked 6 wickets for 70 Runs.
The English inning started and they suffered their first blow just on 8 runs as Alex Hales Departed but then came a solid stand between the English Skipper Cook and Stalwart Batsman Joe Root which took the English scorecard above 100 but Yasir Shah picked up the wicket of Root and then tormented the English batting line up picking up wickets in frequent intervals. Cook stayed firm just like the way Misbah did for Pakistan but was eventually removed by Amir and then the struggle for England started as they found it hard to cut short the Pakistani lead but were helped by Woakes Cameo which kept England in contention as the day ended with England scoring 253 for 7.
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Amir Returns to the Mecca of the cricket
It was a return after 6 years for Mohammed Amir following the Fixing scandal. Prior from the senior English Player criticizing his return, the crowd and the English team welcomed him positively with no harsh incidents. His return could have been memorable if it wasn’t for the poor Pakistani Fielding which presented several opportunities for English batsman by dropping the catches and the most important among them was of Alastair Cook.
England’s Fragile Middle Order Exposed again
It was Wahab Riaz who stated even before the start of the series about the weak middle order of English team and it was completely highlighted when Yasir Shah Capitalized most from their weakness. This could be a serious sign for the English team as the Pakistani team’s bowling lineup is fully power packed and can trouble any batting order with ease and if it stays like this, Pakistan’s chances of being victorious will be greatly enhanced.
