Robinson and Tongue bowl England to 194-run win over Pakistan to clinch series

Ollie Robinson and Josh Tongue spearheaded England’s bowling as they defeated Pakistan by 194 runs in the second Test at Lord’s on Sunday evening (D4: England 290 & 208, Pakistan 110 & 194). Tongue’s dismissal of Mohammad Ali at 5.45pm sealed the match and with it a series victory for England.

England’s series success ended a run without a series win since late 2024 and was Joe Root’s first series victory as captain for more than five years. The result arrived against the backdrop of a turbulent summer and, the article states, has given the management who failed to preserve the status quo in March some breathing space before Stephen Fleming makes his belated start as Root’s head coach consigliere.

Robinson finished with figures of 4-24 and match figures of 8-35, while Tongue returned 3-46 as England’s seam attack took centre stage on a surface favouring movement. The new-ball pairing of Robinson and Jofra Archer had only previously played together at Sussex and combined for some 24 wickets across four innings this series, a performance the coverage describes as a promising start for a partnership that mixes guile and pace.

Pakistan’s chase was centred on Saud Shakeel’s 97 but they were bowled out for 194 inside 51 overs. Mohammad Abbas completed a five-wicket haul and earned a place on the Lord’s honours board, while the absence of Imam-ul-Haq with a calf injury for the second time in the match left Pakistan needing to negotiate nine remaining wickets.

England’s early strike left Pakistan reeling; Robinson and Archer removed three wickets for 14 runs in 43 balls at the outset of the chase. Robinson’s third over accounted for Azan Awais and Abdullah Shafique—Awais surviving only a tight lbw on umpire’s call and Shafique falling lbw to one that jagged away—before Archer dismissed Babar Azam with a top-edge off a bouncer.

Saud and Shan Masood rebuilt with a 97-run stand in 23 overs around the lunch interval, with Saud attacking gaps and producing cover drives, though both batters absorbed blows to the shoulder and finger respectively. After Pakistan reached 140 for five at tea, Archer and Tongue completed the innings; Saud pulled Tongue for two sixes and a four during an over of bumpers before he was caught at deep backward square leg — "Live by the Saud, die by the Saud, and all that."

Robinson’s return to the side this summer after two years on the sidelines yielded 23 wickets at eight runs apiece, and the 32-year-old now sits on 99 in his Test career at 19.3, providing what the report calls a rejoinder to Rob Key’s assertion that 76mph with the wicketkeeper stood up doesn’t cut it at Test level. There are tougher challenges to come – South Africa and Bangladesh away, a home Ashes next year.