Root & Bairstow Power England To A 7-Wicket Win Against India; Draw Test Series 2-2

ENG vs IND - After team India dominated the first three days of the test match, England managed to pull back in the crucial parts, in the last two days, to register a 7-wicket win over India in the final test, whilst chasing down the highest target ever in England's cricket history. 

Continuing on overnight score of 259/3, Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root didn't flinch a bit as they thrashed Indian bowlers to reach the target quickly without losing any more wickets. Joe Root scored 141 runs with 19 fours & 1 six while Jonny Bairstow, who also scored 106 runs in the first innings, smacked 114 runs with 15 boundaries & a six to take the English team to a historic run chase. Root & Bairstow etched an unbeaten partnership of 269 runs for the fourth wicket to win the match.

With 119 runs required on day 5, Bairstow and Root took just 19.4 overs to reach the target.

For India, captain Jasprit Bumrah was the sole wicket-taker in the second innings with 2 wickets to his name where Alex Lees was run out. None of the other bowlers should discipline or present any kind of threat in front of the English batters. 

Earlier, England captain Ben Stokes won the toss & opted to bowl first against India in the final test. India posted 416 runs in the first innings as Rishabh Pant smack an explosive 146 while Ravindra Jadeja scored a responsible 104 runs. For England, James Anderson picked up 5 wickets for 60 runs. 

In reply, England were restricted to 284/10 with Jonny Bairstow being the top scorer with 106 runs whereas Mohammad Siraj picked up 4 wickets for India. Batting in their second innings, the batting unit failed as India managed only 245 runs despite fifties from Pujara (66) and Pant (57). Ben Stokes picked up 4 wickets in the second innings. 

Also Read: Scorecard

England started the historic chase of 378 runs with a 100-run opening stand between Alex Lees and Zak Crawley. After England lost three quick wickets, Bairstow and Root held the crease and easily took the team to victory. With this win, England have levelled the 5-match test series 2-2 and India are still yet to win a test series in England after 2007.