Root, Bairstow slam tons as England hammer India by 7 wickets in Edgbaston Test, draw series 2-2

Not many had given England a chance at the start of their second innings in the rescheduled fifth Test against India at Edgbaston in Birmingham as the hosts had a massive target of 378 runs in front of them to deny India a historic series win. The England batters were certainly up for the challenge and made a mockery of the Indian bowling attack to nail down the target inside just 76.4 overs and register an emphatic victory by 7 wickets.

Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow continued their purple patch at Edgbaston as they notched up a century apiece in England’s second innings to help the hosts chase down 378 runs without breaking a sweat on Day 5 of the Test match. Asked to chase the huge total, England had started their second innings as far from favourites but a brilliant opening stand followed by terrific knocks from Root and Bairstow sealed a series-levelling win for them.

Openers Alex Lees (56) and Zak Crawley (46) took England off to a flying start in their second innings with a 107-run stand for the first wicket. India’s stand-in skipper Jasprit Bumrah, who was leading the side in Rohit Sharma’s absence, got the visitors back into the game by breaking their partnership at a crucial juncture.

Bumrah then got rid of Ollie Pope on a duck in quick succession before Lees was run-out leaving England reeling on 109/3. However, Root and Bairstow combined to put on a resilient stand and take England close to victory. After being dominated by India over the course of the first three days in the Test match, England stood just 119 runs away from victory at stumps on Day 3.

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It was an incredible turnaround from the hosts as they went from being the underdogs at the start of their second innings to become the absolute favourite to win the game. On Day 5, Root and Bairstow continued from where they had left and went on to notch up their respective centuries. While Root finished unbeaten on 142 off just 173 balls, Bairstow scored 114 off 145 balls.

India dominated the proceedings right from Day 1 despite getting off to a poor start after being asked to bat first. India were struggling at 98/5 at one stage in their first innings before centurions Ravindra Jadeja (104) and Rishabh Pant (146) combined to help them fight back. Skipper Bumrah gave the finishing touches with a sensational cameo of 16-ball 31 to help India post 416 runs on the board.

Indian bowlers then produced an exceptional show with the ball during England’s first innings to bundle them out for 284 runs despite Bairstow’s terrific knock of 106 runs. India amassed a healthy lead of 132 runs heading into their second innings but the batters failed to capitalise.

Barring Cheteshwar Pujara (66) and Pant (57), all other Indian batters failed to get going as India could only manage 245 runs in their second innings to extend their lead to 377 runs to hand England a massive target. However, the total proved to be a cakewalk for the English batters at the end as they chased it down with seven wickets to spare to deny India a historic series win.

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The rescheduled fifth Test was originally scheduled to be played last year during India’s tour of England but had to be postponed due to COVID-19. It was later decided that the final fifth Test of the series will be played at the start of India’s tour of England this year.

India were leading the five-match series 2-1 from last year and stood just one step away from scripting history as it would have been their first Test series win on English soil since 2007. However, England got the better of the visitors in the rescheduled game to ensure the series ended in a 2-2 stalemate.