England completed a dominant victory in the first Test at Headingley in Leeds, defeating Pakistan by an innings and 103 runs. Pakistan started their second innings on Friday trailing England by 238 runs after the first innings, where England posted a total of 409 all out. However, their innings got off to the worst possible start as Imam-ul-Haq, who scored 42 in the first innings, was dismissed for a duck in the second over by Jofra Archer. Imam’s dismissal extended Pakistan’s wait for a half-century opening partnership in Tests on English soil to 27 innings.
Fast bowler Archer removed openers Imam-ul-Haq and Azan Awais during the collapse. Tactical Moves And Match Winning Spells It was something of a tactical coup for Root, starting his second spell as full-time Test captain on his Yorkshire home ground. Early Batting Collapses And Fast Bowling Pakistan were bowled out for 171 in their first innings and managed only 135 in their second innings. For the second time in the match, Pakistan were 0-1 Friday when Archer dismissed Imam for a duck as the left-hander, trying to evade a short delivery, could only glove the ball to wicket-keeper Jamie Smith. Awais, out for a golden duck in the first innings, had made nine when he clipped Archer, who had made a quickfire 23 not out earlier Friday, straight to England captain Joe Root at the rarely used position of leg slip. Pakistan were reduced early, with Archer leading the bowling attack as England eyed what would be just their third win in 11 Tests. Abdullah Shafique had been Pakistan’s shining light with 61 in their meagre first-innings 171. But he could only manage 15 before he edged a full-length ball from Ollie Robinson, fresh from his five-wicket haul in the first innings, to Harry Brook at second slip. Robinson finished with stellar match figures of 8-80, taking 5-51 in the first innings and 3-29 in the second, earning him the Player of the Match award.
Skipper Evaluates Successful Headingley Outing Joe Root | England skipper: (On returning as England captain with a convincing win at Headingley) ‘Brilliant performance. You look at the prep that we had leading in, coming straight in from the Hundred, the fact that we are sort of in this slight transition stage, but I thought the way that we dealt with all of that, the clarity and the way that the guys have approached this week has been outstanding. So, to put in a performance like that is really, really enjoyable, but very skillful as well. So, a lot of really good stuff in that department. I felt we found a really good tempo as well, managed different phases and stuff. So, Dan coming in at six and getting a score like he did, rookie, showing why he’s the best player in the world. Lots of really good stuff to take into Lord’s and a great way to start the series.’
Because i still think they don’t really know how good they are yet, and what they’re quite capable of, and I think that’s a great place to be when you can put in performances like that and attack with that kind of variety, different things to call upon at different times within the game, and as well the fact that they bowl very well in partnerships at different times throughout as well, i thought the bowlers exposed those conditions brilliantly, found the right areas very early on in the Test match, and once we got ahead in the game, I thought we showed great maturity actually in how to manage the conditions, and a big reason why we’re here now.’ (On the strength and variety of England’s bowling attack) ‘I say, it’s very exciting. I thought as well the way we played with the bat in very bowler-friendly conditions, Jordan Cox coming in at 3 and playing with such control, such a calm nature.
