LONDON (Sports Desk) – Pakistan captain Babar Azam made his return from injury on Thursday, winning the toss and choosing to field against England in the rain-delayed second Test at Lord’s.
Pakistan are under pressure to respond after suffering an innings and 103-run defeat in the opening Test at Headingley, which gave England a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Babar missed the series opener after aggravating a finger injury but returned to take charge of the team at Lord’s. The 31-year-old said at the toss that he was fully fit and ready to play.
Explaining his decision to bowl first, Babar pointed to the conditions and grass on the Lord’s pitch, with Pakistan hoping their pace attack can take advantage of early movement.
Babar was Pakistan’s only change from the first Test, replacing stand-in captain Salman Ali Agha.
England unchanged after Headingley victory
England retained the same XI that recorded a commanding victory in the series opener.
Captain Joe Root said England would also have preferred to bowl first, although he believed the Lord’s surface looked significantly different from the one his side had previously encountered at the ground.
England will enter the match with renewed confidence after recording only their third victory in their previous 11 Tests at Headingley.
Root said England were particularly encouraged by the all-round nature of their performance in the first Test and wanted to follow the same approach at Lord’s.
Victory in the second Test would hand England an unassailable 2-0 advantage and their first Test series triumph since beating New Zealand in 2024.
Carse controversy hits England
England entered the Lord’s Test amid another off-field controversy after fast bowler Brydon Carse was dropped from the squad.
Derbyshire Police said they were investigating allegations of assault following an incident over the weekend in which Carse was reportedly handcuffed outside a nightclub.
Playing XIs
Pakistan: Azan Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Shan Masood, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam (capt), Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wkt), Ali Usman, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Abbas.