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Joe Root began his second stint as full-time England Test captain in emphatic fashion, defeating Pakistan by an innings and 103 runs in the opening match of the series and earning crucial ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 points on Friday.
Joe Root's first stint as England men's Test captain ran from 2017 to 2022. The comprehensive victory helped England improve their position in the WTC standings, while Pakistan slipped below West Indies to the bottom of the table with a point percentage of 19.05. Batting first after being asked to take strike, Pakistan struggled throughout their opening innings and were bowled out for 171. England pacers Ollie Robinson and Josh Tongue played a key role in dismantling the visitors' batting line-up, claiming five wickets each. England then took complete control of the match, with their middle order producing a dominant batting display. Jordan Cox (73), Joe Root (66), Harry Brook (91) and Dan Lawrence (51) scored crucial half-centuries to help England post a commanding first-innings advantage of 238 runs. For Pakistan, Ali Usman was the standout bowler, finishing with figures of 5/95. Pakistan's second innings followed a similar pattern as England's bowling attack once again exposed their batting weaknesses. Jofra Archer and Robinson struck early blows before Tongue continued the damage by troubling the middle order. Although Pakistan crossed the 100-run mark, they were all out for 135. Mohammad Rizwan offered some resistance with a knock of 41, but Archer and Gus Atkinson eventually wrapped up the innings to seal a convincing win for England. The two teams will now face each other in the second Test of the series at Lord's, beginning on August 27. Following England's dominant innings victory over Pakistan, several records were scripted. Pakistan's total of 135 in the second innings became their sixth-lowest Test total in England since 2000, with their previous lowest scores including 72 at Birmingham in 2010 and 74 at Lord's in the same year. The match also marked only the second instance of England pacers claiming all 20 wickets against Pakistan in a Test, after their feat at Lord's in 2001. The victory was also among England's biggest innings wins over Pakistan. Their innings and 103-run triumph at Leeds in 2026 ranks as the fifth-largest innings victory for England against Pakistan, behind their biggest win of innings and 225 runs at Lord's in 2010. Other notable wins include innings and 129 runs at Nottingham in 1954, and innings and 120 runs victories at Manchester in 2006 and Lord's in 1978. (ANI)
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