England batsmen Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow played masterful knocks in the fourth innings of the Edgbaston Test to guide their side to a thumping win over India on Tuesday.
Set a target of 378, Alex Lees and Zak Crawley put on 107 runs for the opening partnership. It was the perfect platform but unfortunately, the hosts lost 3 wickets in quick succession.
Reduced to 110/3 out of nowhere, the onus was on England’s best batsmen, Root and Bairstow to take the innings forward in the steep run chase. The duo did exactly the same with a positive approach, as has become the norm.
The two Yorkshiremen kept the scoreboard ticking at ease, picking gaps for fun and laying into India’s change bowlers, Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur.
Once the duo was settled, there was no stopping them and they comfortably brought up their respective centuries on Day 5. Apart from Jasprit Bumrah, no other bowlers were effective and the series win levels the scoreline 2-2.
Earlier, the first three days were dominated by India. After being reduced to 98/5 in the first innings, Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja stitched a 222-run partnership which helped India post 416 on the board.
In response, the Englishmen were bundled out for 284 with Bairstow top-scoring with his 11th Test century. The lead of 132 runs was massive but India became complacent in the third innings, throwing away wickets cheaply.
In the end, Ben Stokes’ 4-wicket haul ensured the visitors collapsed to 245, leaving England to chase down 378. They comfortably aced the run chase and with that, India’s hopes of winning a series since 2007 went up in smoke.
Here’s how Twitter reacted to England’s thumping win over India:
Special win by England to level the series.
Joe Root & Jonny Bairstow have been in sublime form and made batting look very easy.
Congratulations to England on a convincing victory. AzBazmccullum #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/PKAdWVLGJo
– Sachin Tendulkar (sachin_rt) July 5, 2022
Joe Root says he still wants to get better. How is that possible? #ENGvsIND
– simon hughes (theanalyst) July 5, 2022
Congratulations England on your highest successful run chase.
India have quite a few issues to address, only Pujara & Pant from the top 6 scoring runs and Jadeja batting brilliantly, but need batsman to be in form. Bowling in the fourth innings was absolutely listless #INDvsENG– Virender Sehwag (irevirendersehwag) July 5, 2022
Great win by England from 5/83 chasing 416 runs in first innings.
Root and Bairstow batting influenced by Test, 50 over and T20 batting styles. 3
Great to watch. ⁇#Stoked#ENGvIND– Damien Fleming (owbowlologist) July 5, 2022
This victory of team England should hurt Team India. That was too easy #INDvENG
– Irfan Pathan (rIrfanPathan) July 5, 2022
Wow… that was very very special indeed. We are all witnessing something absolutely #differentgravy from this team under Ben / Baz I don’t want to hear anyone tell me Test cricket is boring ever again #Facts 3 #ENGvsIND
– Alex Tudor (alextudorcoach) July 5, 2022
Change of coach and captain for both teams and a change of fortunes for both. Fantastic test match. England have made a statement over the last couple of months. Test cricket in good hands for now! #INDvENG
– Brad Hogg (@Brad_Hogg) July 5, 2022
WHAT A CHASE by England -, 378 in 76.4 overs… ..we live in an age of wonders.
– Derek Pringle (erederekpringle) July 5, 2022
England take a bow
Wow wow wow wow !!!!!!
That was amazing !! root66 jbairstow21 absolutely stunning! Words aren’t enough to take a bow– Matthew Hoggard (og Hoggy602) July 5, 2022
What a vein of form Bairstow is in. What a month. What a show!#ENGvsIND #testcricket #whatawin
– Mpumelelo Mbangwa (mmbangwa) July 5, 2022
Unbelievable run chase this! Phenomenal Test match
– AB de Villiers (de ABdeVilliers17) July 5, 2022
Exemplary batting performance by England in the second innings.
Real gutsy effort to chase and get 373 runs with more than half a day’s play left. Superb performance.#ENGvIND #JonnyBairstow #JoeRoot– Mohammed Azharuddin (azharflicks) July 5, 2022
Most Test Centuries in a calendar year for England:
6 – Denis Compton, 1947
6 – Michael Vaughan, 2002
6 – Joe Root, 2021
6 * – Jonny Bairstow, 2022
5 – Dennis Amiss, 1974
5 – Kevin Pietersen, 2008
5 – Alastair Cook, 2010
5 – Ian Bell, 2011
5 * – Joe Root, 2022#ENGvIND– The CricViz Analyst (riccricvizanalyst) July 5, 2022
AGAIN !!! 3
Scorecard / Clips: https://t.co/jKoipFmvoB
3 #ENGvIND 3 pic.twitter.com/2ep47JN4Og
– England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 5, 2022
Joe Root is the fifth man to hit four hundreds in a bilateral Test series this century. #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/Lg9GTwrdTh
– Wisden (isWisdenCricket) July 5, 2022
This is just incredible to watch!
– Jos Buttler (osjosbuttler) July 5, 2022
Joe Root making a genuine mockery of this
– Will Macpherson (willis_macp) July 5, 2022
4th Test hundred of the series for this amazing Run machine, Joe Root. The best test batsman in the world right now #INDvENG pic.twitter.com/aypOmWLFTW
– Virender Sehwag (irevirendersehwag) July 5, 2022
Joe Root in fourth innings
Before this season: 37 inngs | 1024 runs | Avg 32 | HS 87
This season: 115 *, 3, 86 * & 108 *#ENGvIND
– Deepu Narayanan (@deeputalks) July 5, 2022
Had faith in the Indian bowling. Thought 378 would be impossible for England to chase down, even with their recent success. But from 109-3, Ind have been pedestrian, in their bowling and in planning too and let the Test slip away. Brilliant from root66 jbairstow21 #IndvEng
– Vikrant Gupta (ik vikrantgupta73) July 5, 2022
Joe Root now has most test Hundreds against India – 9 test hundreds. He surpassed Viv Richards, Ponting, Smith.
– cricket (@ Benstokesfan55) July 5, 2022
Absolutely joyous batting from jbairstow21 & root66 #ENGvsIND
– Kashmiran (tahirgulpinu) July 5, 2022
THE BIGGEST ENGLAND RUN CHASE OF ALL TIME#ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/EuoKIfrcB2
– Jonny Bairstow’s Barmy Army (@TheBarmyArmy) July 5, 2022
Congratulations England For This Fantastic Victory
Four test wins in a row
This is Brendon-Stokes Era🔥🖤
This Duo🖤#INDvsENG pic.twitter.com/gV4zOzwWSv– Ahmed’s Tweets (ahmedalimalik49) July 5, 2022
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