ENG vs PAK, 2nd Test: A wounded Pakistan will hope for redemption when they face England in the second Test, beginning on August 27, Thursday at the storied venue of the Lord’s Cricket Ground.
The tourists lost the first Test by an innings and 103 runs inside three days after the batting unit collapsed twice. However, the boost from their perspective is the potential return of their captain Babar Azam, who missed the series-opener in Leeds due to a hand injury.
Pakistan are likely to make at least one change to their XI, with opener Azan Awais likely to make way for Babar. Although Abdullah Shafique has batted well at No.4, he is likely to open the innings with Imam-ul-Haq. Mohammad Rizwan could also find himself out of the eleven, with Ghazi Ghori in line to take the keeping gloves. Whatever changes the visitors make, it’s inevitable that the batters must show the stomach for a fight, given they could not cross even 200 in the first Test, The bowling line-up should remain unchanged but will be expected to bowl with greater control at Lord’s.
England, meanwhile, have been slightly dented by off-field troubles after Brydon Carse was removed from the squad for the second Test after being handcuffed by the cops outside a nightclub in Derby. Although with Carse not part of the XI in the series-opener, it should leave the Joe Root-led side untroubled and they are unlikely to make changes to the XI. The pace trio of Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue and Gus Atkinson is expected to be even more ruthless, given they barely carried any workload in Leeds.
ENG vs PAK, 2nd Test, Squads
England Squad:Joe Root (c), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Sonny Baker, Harry Brook, Sam Cook, Jordan Cox, Ben Duckett, Matthew Fisher, Emilio Gay, Dan Lawrence, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue.
Pakistan Squad: Babar Azam (capt), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Fazal, Ali Usman, Azan Awais, Imam ul Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Awais Zafar, Mohammad Ghazi Ghouri, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Shan Masood, Ubaid Shah.
Where to watch ENG vs PAK, 2nd Test in India?
Fans in India can catch the live telecast of all five days of the Test on Sony Sports Network, while the live streaming of the match shall be available on Sony Liv App and website.