Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow’s centuries led England to their highest successful chase in Test cricket and ninth-largest in the game’s history.
On the final morning of the fifth Test at Edgbaston, England effortlessly chased down a record 378 runs to beat India in record time.
Needing another 119 runs from their overnight score of 259-3, Root and Bairstow cruised to a seven-wicket victory for England, one of their all-time greatest victories.
Bairstow’s unbeaten 114 was his second century of the match, and Root’s unbeaten 142 rounded out an unbroken partnership of 269 runs.
Under new captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum, they led England to new heights in what is shaping up to be a spectacular summer.
The victory ensures a 2-2 draw in a series that was postponed last summer, but more importantly, it is the greatest validation to date of England’s ultra-positive approach to Test cricket.
Their next series will be against South Africa in August, while a completely different squad led by the new white-ball captain Jos Buttler will face India in the first of three Twenty20s on Thursday.
Bazball achieves new peaks.
Five weeks ago, England’s Test cricket was in a rut, with McCullum and Stokes tasked with reviving a squad that had won only once in 17 attempts.
While the manner of the 3-0 series victory over New Zealand was thrilling, the prospect of playing ‘Bazball’ against the formidable Indians felt different.
At various points during this match, the home team was under intense pressure. They were 83-5 in response to India’s first-innings 416, and India led by 322 runs with five second-innings wickets remaining on Monday.
Despite this, England’s insistence that they could pursue any target was proven correct, largely due to the brisk progress they made on the fourth day.
Inexplicably, given the significance of the outcome, the fifth morning was almost anticlimactic.
Even though all of the available free tickets were taken, Edgbaston was far from full, and Root and Bairstow eliminated what little threat remained in the chase.
This in no way diminishes England’s accomplishment; their ability to chase down 378 runs with only three wickets lost is truly remarkable.
What can this new England accomplish in the future?
Root and Bairstow steer England to victory
The use of superlatives to describe England’s two Yorkshire batting maestros has long since been exhausted. This was Bairstow’s fourth century in five innings and sixth this year, while Root has scored eleven centuries since the start of 2021.
Their recovery from 109-3 on Monday exhausted India. Tuesday morning, with Root on 76 and Bairstow on 72, India’s fielders were still dispersed, allowing runs to flow.
Root performed pads with dreamy drives and clips. After running Mohammed Siraj to the third man for his 28th Test century, he unleashed his trick shots. Shardul Thakur was belted over his head for four and then backward for six.
Bairstow was more circumspect, but he continued to pummel anything short. He only displayed anxiety on 99, when he reached three figures with a single off Ravindra Jadeja and received an emotional embrace from Root.
In the end, their partnership was the fourth-highest by any pair in the fourth innings of a Test, and the run chase surpassed the previous England record of 359, set by Stokes at Headingley in 2019 when he stunned Australia.
The victory, which had been a formality for the majority of the morning, was achieved just before lunch.
India miss their opportunity
This is a devastating loss for India. They were by far the superior team last summer, but they canceled the fifth Test due to a Covid outbreak among their backroom staff, preventing them from winning their first series in England since 2007.
In Test cricket, this is the largest target they have ever failed to defend.
They made a selection error by omitting spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, carelessly threw away a dominant position in their second innings, and were completely passive as England dominated their run chase.
Could the tourists have avoided their errors if Jasprit Bumrah hadn’t had to stand in for the injured Rohit Sharma, their captain?
Realistically, nothing could have stopped England given their play.
