New Delhi: Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow stroked remarkable centuries as the duo stitched a solid unbeaten stand of 269 runs to drive the England cricket team to a historic win against India in the Ind vs Eng 5th Test at Edgbaston on Tuesday. England had the easy task on chasing down a paltry 119 runs on the final day which they attained with ease. Indian bowlers had no reply to fiery strokes from the English batters as runs kept on coming at a very quick pace. With a seven wicket win over India in the final and fifth rescheduled Test, England leveled the five-match series 2-2, recording their highest ever chase in Test cricket and also highest chase by any team against India in the longest format.
After putting on a massive first innings total, India’s top order failed miserably to make use of good batting conditions in second innings and put match beyond England. A draw against England in such batting-friendly conditions would have meant a series win. Shubman Gill, Hanuma Vihari and particularly Virat Kohli failed to make any contribution when it was needed.
England skipper Ben Stokes won the toss and invited India to bat first. India, after scoring 416 runs in their first innings, bundled out England for 284 runs. After this, the visitors got all out for just 245 runs in their second innings. The target of 378 runs for the win seemed tough for England, but the way Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow batted, even a target of 500 would have been less. Joe Root returned unbeaten after scoring 142 runs and Bairstow too remained unbeaten after scoring 114 runs. Hardly any Indian cricket fan would have imagined such an end to the Test series that started in 2021.
After scoring 416 runs, Team India sent five England batters back to the pavilion for just 83 runs in their first innings. Bairstow, the man who turned the match in England's favor, was not in good rythm when he started batting. It all changed drastically after his heated altercation with Virat Kohli. There was no stopping Bairstow then as he ripped apart the Indian bowlers by notching up a remarkable century. It seemed that India would take a lead of at least 200, but Bairstow's knock pulled England back into the match and in a commanding position.
Indian bowlers toiled without success in morning session of Day 5, Captain Jasprit Bumrah (2/74) was the only Indian bowler to take wicket in the England second innings. He ended the match with five wickets. Mohammed Siraj had taken four wickets in the England first innings.
Brief Scores: England: 284 & 378/3 in 76.4 overs (Joe Root 142 not out, Jonny Bairstow 114 not out, Alex Lees 56; Jasprit Bumrah 2/74) beat India 416 & 245 by seven wickets.