India vs England, 5th round: Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow are the protagonists of the India series of English level in the hunt for the record | Cricket News

BIRMINGHAM (United Kingdom): Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow both hit hundreds of them as England continued their resurgence with a record fourth inning chase to beat India by seven wickets in Covid’s delayed fifth test in Edgbaston on Tuesday.
With 378 wins, England finished 378-3, with former captain Root 142 not eliminated and Bairstow 114 not eliminated: his second hundred games after scoring 106 in the 284 of the hosts’ first inning.
How did it happen | Scoreboard
The win saw England level this five-game streak at 2-2.
No English team had previously won more than 359 in the fourth inning of a Test, when now captain Ben Stokes’ brilliant century has led them to a thrilling victory over Australia at Headingley three years ago.
But that record was easily revised after England’s first series under a new leading pair of Stokes and manager Brendon McCullum saw them chasing seemingly stiff goals of 277, 299 and 296 during a white 3-0 against the test world champions from New Zealand.

(Photo AP)
England resumed at 259-3, only 119 more runs are needed to win.
Root was 76 not out overnight and Bairstow was undefeated at 72 after the Yorkshire pair had reunited at 109-3, with England losing three wickets in quick succession on both sides of the tea.
But their unbroken stance, built on largely orthodox albeit hard-hit twists, was ultimately worth 269, with England averaging nearly five more when they hit their goal with 77 overs.
Bairstow started his pace early on Tuesday, leading a four-man cover over Mohammed Shami before hitting another resounding border to the long-on off. Jasprit Bumrahcaptaining India in place of the success of Covid Rohit Sharma.

Both shots were cheered as they headed for the rope by a crowd who, as was the case on the final day of England’s victories over New Zealand at Headingley and Trent Bridge, had been let in for free.
And there were more cheers of appreciation as Root, the world’s tallest test hitter, drove the Shami for four in a typically elegant way.
As England accelerated towards their goal, it was hard to believe they had only won one of the previous 17 tests before the New Zealand series.

Root hit his hundred first when he late cut Mohammed Siraj by a 14th four in 136 balls for his third century trial of the season after two tons against New Zealand.
And while Bairstow was briefly calm, Root drove and then “branched out” the average Shardul Thakur pace for four and six successive deliveries.
Bairstow’s wild single on Ravindra Jadeja saw him reach a century of 138 balls, including 12 fours and a six.

His fourth Hundred Test in five innings saw Bairstow become the first English player to score two centuries in the same Test since Andrew Strauss against India in Chennai in 2008.
It was Bairstow’s sixth century in eight tests in 2022.
India could have put England under more pressure after starting the penultimate day with three wickets under and scoring another 120 points. But they lost their way when the last six wickets fell by just 55 when a string of batters succumbed to the short ball.
Even so, previously there had only been two successful fourth inning chases over 200 in a test at Edgbaston, with South Africa scoring 283-5 in 2008 and England 211-3 against New Zealand in 1999.
But England’s new aggressive approach “Bazball”, named in honor of McCullum’s nickname, has been evident since the start of their latest chase, with Alex Lees and Zak Crawley sharing an opening century in 19.5 overs, the fastest in the history of the English test.
This decider was supposed to have been played in Manchester last September only to be postponed a few hours before the start due to coronavirus concerns within the India field.