Tongue’s four-wicket haul restricts Pakistan to 133, Saud hits 43

Josh Tongue claimed four wickets as England’s bowling attack dismantled Pakistan for 133 on the opening day of the Birmingham Test, while Saud Shakeel offered some resistance with a team-high 43.

England won the toss and elected to bowl first, immediately putting Pakistan under pressure with their pace attack.

Pakistan suffered an early setback when Saim Ayub was dismissed for a duck with just eight runs on the board. Azan Owais followed soon after, scoring nine off 10 balls as Jofra Archer struck to reduce Pakistan to 14-2.

Abdullah Shafique could add only three runs before departing, leaving Pakistan struggling at 24-3.

The national team continued to lose wickets as England’s bowlers maintained control. Shan Masood scored five, while captain Babar Azam managed just seven before being dismissed, leaving Pakistan at 48-5.

Saud Shakeel then provided some much-needed resistance in the middle order. He top-scored for Pakistan with 43 runs, hitting seven boundaries as he attempted to rebuild the innings.

However, Saud found little support from the other batters. Mohammad Imran and Muhammad Ghazi Ghori scored five and four runs respectively, while Razaullah contributed 11.

Mohammad Abbas provided some late resistance with a valuable 21 off the lower order, including four boundaries, but Pakistan were eventually bowled out for 133 in 33.5 overs.

Tongue was the standout bowler for England, finishing with four wickets for 42 runs. Robinson claimed three for 15, while Archer took three for 25.

England will now begin their first innings with Pakistan hoping to strike back with the ball before the end of the opening day.

Pakistan playing XI

Saim Ayub, Azan Awais, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori, Mohammad Imran, Razaullah, Mohammad Abbas and Mohammad Ali.

England Playing XI

Ben Duckett, Emilio Gay, Jordan Cox, Joe Root (C), Harry Brook, Dan Lawrence, Jamie Smith, Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Ollie Robinson and Josh Tongue