To tie the five-match series against India at 2-2, Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow each scored a century to quickly finish off what was their biggest successful run chase in Tests. The pair continued playing casually in the early session of Day 5 after dominating the closing session of play on Day 4 when India’s bowlers were unable to get past them.
Jonny Bairstow has successfully smashed two tons in both the innings and completing a single, being on 99 on the 5th day. Bairstow and Joe Root have crossed 250 runs partnership and it is supposedly the second highest England’s partnership on 4th wicket.
Root and Bairstow effortlessly snatched singles, preventing Bumrah and company from exerting any form of pressure, while boundaries continued to arrive as they pleased. Root quickly reached his 28th Test century, giving him a total of four centuries for the series. The other England batsman who is currently experiencing a remarkable run of form, Jonny Bairstow, also got a century, bringing his last five outings totals to: 136(92), 162(157), 71(44), 106(140), and 114. (145).
Captain Ben Stokes said When the lads play like this, it makes my job easier. When you have clarity like we have in the dressing room, it makes chasing totals like this easier. 378 would have been scary five weeks ago, but now it’s all good. Jonny and Root will get all the credit, but the precedent was set up by the way the openers played against Bumrah and Shami with the new ball. It is all about taking wickets and taking ten wickets. There are no complains. Some times, teams will be better than us, but no one will be braver than us, quote by Jack Leach. We are trying to rewrite how Test cricket is played in England. All our plans from the last four-five weeks is what we want to take ahead. Bowling on the top of off isn’t important, it is all about taking ten wickets. We know that we want to give some new life to Test cricket. The support we received has been fantastic in the short time that we’ve been around. Inspiring the next generation is what we want to do. We want to bring in new fans and want to leave a mark on Test cricket.
