With Ben Stokes having retired and Brendon McCullum no longer in charge, Joe Root returned as England captain for his second stint and immediately found himself at the centre of a dominant opening day. After winning the toss and choosing to bowl under an overcast sky, England’s seamers made the most of the conditions.
Ollie Robinson set the tone from the very first delivery of the three-match series. Bowling around the wicket, he produced a ball that nipped back into Azan Awais and pinned him. Robinson struck again in his third over, switching to over the wicket and trapping Shan Masood for five as Pakistan slipped to 6-2.
A two-hour rain interruption briefly halted proceedings, but Pakistan appeared to have recovered when Imam-ul-Haq and Abdullah Shafique put together a 91-run stand. Imam made 42, while Shafique top-scored with 61.
That resistance was eventually broken by Robinson and Josh Tongue, who returned to rip through the Pakistan batting order. Robinson claimed 5-51 and Tongue finished with 5-46, as Pakistan collapsed from 117-3 to 171 all out. Their final five wickets fell for just 21 runs in 22 deliveries.
For Robinson, the five-wicket haul marked another memorable comeback. He had last played a Test at Lord’s in June, where he took 7-77 against New Zealand in his first Test appearance in two years. A knee injury and concerns over his fitness had kept him out afterwards.
Pakistan, meanwhile, arrived with only two wins from their previous seven Tests and were also without captain Babar Azam, who is sidelined with a finger injury.
England began their reply positively but lost Ben Duckett for 15 to Mohammad Abbas. Emilio Gay followed for 33 after edging Mohammad Ali to second slip.
Root then took charge, combining with Jordan Cox to stabilise the innings. Root remained unbeaten on 37, having already struck six fours, while Cox was 23 not out at the close.
England finished the day on 112-2, trailing by only 59 runs and with a clear advantage heading into the second day.