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Robinson and Tongue run through batting lineup to put England on top
England dominated the opening day of the first Test at Headingley, bowling out Pakistan for 171 before reaching 112/2 by stumps, trailing by just 59 runs.
Five-Fors for Robinson & Tongue: Ollie Robinson (5/51) and Josh Tongue (5/46) shared all ten wickets. Robinson struck on the very first ball of the match to dismiss Azan Awais before removing skipper Shan Masood early.
Pakistan Collapse After Weather Delay: Following a two-hour rain delay, Abdullah Shafique (61) and Imam-ul-Haq (42) rebuilt with a 91-run partnership. However, Tongue broke the stand, triggering a total collapse where Pakistan lost their final eight wickets for 74 runs.
DRS Controversy: Saud Shakeel was given lbw to Robinson and failed to review in time before the 15-second timer expired; ball-tracking subsequently showed the delivery would have cleared leg stump.
England's Strong Reply: After losing Ben Duckett and Emilio Gay early, returning captain Joe Root (37*) and Jordan Cox (23*) compiled an unbroken 50+ partnership to put England firmly in control by Stumps.
Pakistan's frustrations compounded when England began brightly, the openers scoring at over four. But Abbas finally got his man when he brought one back into Duckett from around the wicket, trapping him dead in front of middle stump.
Mohammad Ali followed that up with the dismissal of Emilio Gay, squaring him up in an otherwise errant first over to suddenly offer Pakistan a glint of hope. But Root's arrival at the crease saw Pakistan's threat with the ball fade significantly, and Jordan Cox made a promising start, bedding into his new role at No. 3.
Agha had said at the toss Pakistan would have batted first anyway. As Root and Cox eased past 50 for the partnership, Agha - and his side - may have begun to appreciate these were decent batting conditions after all.