Josh Tongue’s Impact Leaves Pakistan Reeling at Lord’s
On a grey, tense morning at Lord’s, Josh Tongue walked off to the pavilion with bat raised and Pakistan already in trouble. By lunch, he had shaped the session with both bat and ball, dragging England up to 290 and then cutting through Pakistan’s top order to leave them 16-2 on the second day of the second Test.
This was supposed to be Pakistan’s chance to seize control. Instead, they were hanging on.
England’s tail bites back
England began on 248-9, one wicket away from surrendering a modest total. Pakistan had the new ball, the initiative, and a chance to finish the job within minutes.
Tongue and Gus Atkinson had other ideas.
The last pair added 47 precious runs, a stand that shifted the mood of the morning. Tongue, compact and stubborn, finished 30 not out, refusing to give his wicket away. Atkinson, more expansive, counter-attacked with 45 from 46 balls, picking his moments and forcing Pakistan’s quicks to recalibrate.
The partnership irritated Pakistan’s bowlers and fielders alike. Fields spread, shoulders dropped. When Atkinson finally miscued an attacking stroke, driving Ali Usman straight down the ground to Mohammad Ali, the dismissal felt overdue for the visitors rather than inevitable for England.
England’s total, nudged from 248 to 290, suddenly looked competitive. The tail had done its job. Pakistan’s batsmen now had an awkward hour to survive before lunch. It proved brutal.
Archer ignites, Tongue finishes
Jofra Archer took the ball with a snarl in his run-up and 91mph on the speed gun. He did not take long.
Shan Masood, Pakistan’s captain and tone-setter, tried to ride the pace but found himself fenced in by Archer’s hostility. One ball leapt, another skidded, then came the edge: a 91mph delivery that Masood could not resist, nicking through to Jamie Smith behind the stumps. England erupted; Pakistan were 1 down early and under immediate pressure.
The atmosphere changed. The crowd sensed it, England’s slip cordon sensed it, and Pakistan’s dressing room certainly did.
Atkinson thought he had added to the chaos when Azan Awais appeared to feather one behind. England celebrated, but technology intervened. Pakistan reviewed, and the decision was overturned. Awais survived, a small but crucial win in a session going against them.
Just as Pakistan seemed to be steadying, Tongue returned.
His first spell had been probing; his second was decisive. Abdullah Shafique, usually so composed, reached for an attempted drive. The edge was faint but real. England went upstairs, the review showed contact, and Tongue had his man. Shafique gone, Pakistan 16-2, and Lord’s on its feet again.
Tongue walked off at lunch having done damage at both ends of the morning. A defiant 30 not out. A key top-order wicket with the last ball before the interval. Pakistan, chasing 290, now face not just England’s total, but an attack that has its tail up and a crowd fully engaged.
The next session will tell whether this is just a stumble or the start of a full-scale collapse.
