Pakistan's bowlers struck at regular intervals to put England under pressure on a rain-hit opening day of the second Test at Lord's, with Mohammad Abbas leading the attack with four wickets. Only 56 overs could be bowled during the opening day, which got off to a delayed start due to the rain, and ultimately came to a close around an hour before the scheduled time due to bad light.

At stumps, the home side were reeling at 248/9 with lower-order batters Gus Atkinson and Josh Tongue, unbeaten on 34 and one, respectively. The final session, comprising just 12 overs, saw Pakistan force their comeback through their pace trio of Mohammad Ali, Khurram Shahzad and Abbas, respectively, as England could muster 68 runs for the loss of four wickets, including that of both set batters, Jordan Cox and Jamie Smith.

Cox and Smith resumed England's first innings in the final session from 180/5 and could add seven more to their sixth-wicket partnership before the former was dismissed by Shahzad, courtesy of a sensational catch by substitute fielder Salman Ali Agha at second slip. The 25-year-old remained a notable scorer for England in the first innings, making 55 off 105 deliveries with the help of seven boundaries.

Earlier in the day, Pakistan captain Babar Azam won the toss and opted to field first, and the decision paid dividends as the touring side's under-criticised bowling attack dictated proceedings in the opening session, which was delayed due to intermittent rain. England's opening pair of Ben Duckett and Emilio Gay started spiritedly and put together 21 runs inside five overs before Abbas got the latter caught behind.