On the fifth day of the rescheduled Edgbaston Test, England overcame India by seven wickets as Joe Root hammered his 11th Test century since 2021 and Jonny Bairstow struck his second century of the match.
Root (142 not out off 173 balls) and Bairstow (114 not out off 145 balls) scored the necessary 119 runs in an hour and a half to square the Pataudi Trophy series at 2-2 and prevent India from winning its first series in England since 2007.
The successful 378-point chase is also the highest England has ever attempted in a Test match. After successfully chasing 278 against India and 277, 299, and 296 against New Zealand, England became the first team in Test cricket to successfully chase four 250+ innings in a row. In their 269-run undefeated streak, Root and Bairstow were effective, faultless, and dominant as England's Bazball winning streak continued.
The ball was replaced nine balls into the fifth day in front of a crowd that had been given free tickets. When the ball was changed last, India quickly took three wickets on day four. However, Jonny Bairstow dashed all expectations of a comeback by blasting back-to-back boundaries through cover point and backward point.
Despite being chopped onto his stumps by Shami, Root appeared to have everything under control. With the ball, India was all over the place, with Shami surrendering eight byes and handing England freebies. In the 65th over, there was yet another ball change, but it did not provide India with any relief as Root continued to smash Jasprit Bumrah for consecutive boundaries, guiding over the third man and pushing forward to clip through deep mid-wicket, which also brought the partnership's 200th run.
Root ducked the ball beyond the gully to score his fifth century in a Test this year. He kept moving with ease, hitting Siraj for a boundary over additional cover and edging a superb leg that was racing. But two balls after he danced down the field to get a boundary, he pre-mediated the reverse scoop over fine leg for a six off Thakur, which was the most amazing shot of the day.
The 90s were a quiet decade for Bairstow on the other side, which included a maiden over off Ravindra Jadeja. But it was a single through square leg off Jadeja that brought him to his century. He next acted with utter contempt for Siraj, hitting a hat-trick of boundaries through point, down the line, and midwicket.
Root nailed a reverse sweep off Jadeja for a boundary before repeating the same shot for the winning run to get the job done easily for England.
Brief scores:
India 416 & 245 lost to England 284 & 378/3 in 76.4 overs (Joe Root 142 not out, Jonny Bairstow 114 not out, Alex Lees 56; Jasprit Bumrah 2-74) by 7 wickets