Joe Root Zak Crawley Jonny Bairstow Brendon Maccullum New Zealand India Birmingham England Cricket Team win India vs England Things Test Joe Root Zak Crawley Jonny Bairstow Brendon Maccullum New Zealand India Birmingham

India vs England, 5th Test: Three Things We Learned From England's Historic Win

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England defeated India in thrilling fashion to win the Covid-delayed fifth Test at Edgbaston on Tuesday by seven wickets. Set 378, more than any other England team have made in the fourth innings to win a Test, the hosts achieved their target with more than two sessions to spare as Joe Root (142 not out) and Jonny Bairstow (114 not out) saw them to a victory that ensured the five-match series ended level at 2-2.

AFP Sport looks at three things we learned from an enthralling contest: No target off limits for EnglandCricket followers may have to revise their concept of a 'stiff chase' if England keep batting like this in the fourth innings of a Test.

England's pursuit of 378 in Birmingham followed successful chases of 277, 299 and 296 during a 3-0 whitewash of world champions New Zealand and this latest success means they have now won all four of their Tests under the new leadership duo of captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum.

The in-form Root and Bairstow batted superbly, but one of the most impressive aspects of the Edgbaston run-chase was the performance of the struggling Alex Lees and Zak Crawley, who shared a century opening stand in 19.5 overs -- the fastest in England Test history.

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The Indian bowling attack was completely dismantled on day and 5 of the Edgbaston Test as the duo of Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow slammed unbeaten centuries to guide England to their highest successful chase in Test cricket as Ben Stokes' side chased down the 378-run target with 7 wickets in hand. The Indian pacers got no help from the wickets as the England batters made merry on a flat track.
Team India were leading 2-1 from the series played in August-September last year. Four of the five Tests were completed at that time, with one ending in a draw, led by Virat Kohli. A draw or a win in the rescheduled fifth Test would have given India another piece of silverware to add to their cabinet, but England batting stalwart and former captain Joe Root and the in-form Jonny Bairstow had different plans.
Jonny Bairstow (114*; 145 balls, 15x4, 1x6) and Joe Root (142*; 173 balls, 19x4, 1x6) and their unbroken partnership of 269 in just 52.3 overs helped England chase down the highest ever fourth-innings total on English soil on a heady Day Five in Birmingham on Tuesday. The result denied India a series win, that looked possible at the end of Day Three when they were 257 ahead with seven wickets left and had clinched seven sessions out of the nine played. That happened because England were both “braver” and “better” than India, especially on the last two days. And they had two in-form, class batsmen, who, armed with clarity in the dressing room, were prepared to play their strokes, which negated a quality seam attack. Bairstow, who scored his second hundred of the match and his sixth in his last eight, having scored only six in the previous 79, was named man of the match. Root, England’s talisman and perhaps the best batter in the world now, took home the man-of-the -series honours with 737 runs and four hundreds at a stunning average of 105.28. His nine Test tons are the most that any player has scored against India.
Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root, who have made chasing tricky targets in Test matches fashionable, put famed Indian pace attack to sword with imposing hundreds as England recorded their highest ever chase of 378 runs with minimum fuss to level the five-match series 2-2. It is fourth straight successful chase for England, having accomplished tricky fourth innings targets of 278, 299, 296 against New Zealand in the previous series. For India, the ignominy was of not being able to defend their highest fourth innings target.
Jonny Bairstow both hit hundreds as England continued their resurgence with a record fourth-innings chase to beat India by seven wickets in the Covid-delayed fifth Test at Edgbaston on Tuesday. Set 378 to win, England finished on 378-3, with former captain Root 142 not out and Bairstow 114 not out -- his second hundred of the match after he made 106 in the hosts' first-innings 284. As it happened | ScorecardVictory saw England level this five-match series at 2-2. No England side had previously made more to win in the fourth innings of a Test than 359, when now captain Ben Stokes' brilliant century led them to a thrilling victory over Australia at Headingley three years ago. But that record was overhauled with ease after England's first series under a new leadership duo of Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had seen them chase down seemingly stiff targets of 277, 299 and 296 during a 3-0 whitewash of Test world champions New Zealand.

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