Hello and welcome to Sportstar's live coverage of the fifth day of the fifth Test between India and England from Edgbaston in Birmingham.
That would be all from our side. Stokes and Bumrah share the trophy. England retain the Pataudi trophy. Thanks for joining us. See you.
Ben Stokes: "It's down to the players, making my job easier. When you have clarity like we do in the dressing room, it makes totals like that easier. 378 five weeks ago would have been scary, but it's all good. Jonny and Rooty will get the plaudits, but you set the precedent by what your two openers do, and playing the way they did against Bumrah and Shami. It's all about taking wickets. Sometimes teams will be better than us, but no one will be braver than us, according to Jack Leach (smiles)..."
India's Player of the Series is Jasprit Bumrah. 23 wickets in the series. “This is the beauty of Test cricket, even if you have three good days you have to keep a good position. I think yesterday is where we let the opposition win. This is how cricket goes, yes England played really well, kept on fighting, a hard-fought series. Rishabh Pant takes his chances, got us back in the game, he counter attacked, that’s the beauty of Test cricket, we’ve got different characters in the team.” Bumrah said. "Captaincy was a good challenge. It was an honour to lead the team and a great experience for me."
Joe Root is the Player of the Series for his, quite frankly, unbelievable purple patch. 737 runs at 105.28, with four hundreds. Madness. "I love batting. The environment over the last four weeks is exceptional. There is clarity and belief, get out there, trust it and do it. Stokesy has the full backing of everyone, particularly myself. Our responsibility is to keep it entertaining for everyone out there," Root said.
Jonny Bairstow is the Player of the Match for his twin in this Test. "It's great fun at the moment. We can see the smile on the boys' faces. I've stripped it all back to the basics, I'm not a big fan of bubbles and sitting in rooms playing computer games. It's about having the enjoyment factor, not being afraid of failing, putting the pressure back on the opposition. We're going to lose games along the way, but the positive brand is fun to play," says Bairstow. Asked about his and Joe Root's hundreds, Bairstow said: "Just two lads from Yorkshire, grown up playing together from academy to Test matches, it's pretty special."
Root has done it! Bairstow has done it! England have done it. They have beaten India by seven wickets to level the series 2-2! What a mindboggling run chase. Bairstow and Root unbeaten on 114 and 142 respectively. This is now the highest run-chase in England's history! And eighth biggest overall. Jaw-dropping stuff. England have thwarted India's bid for a first series win in England since 2007. That's also four stunning run-chases in a row for England. Ben Stokes, after winning the toss, had said: We like to chase. And boy was he right!
Bairstow is now flying - three back-to-back fours off Siraj.
HUNDRED! Bairstow reaches his 100 off 138 balls, second of this match! Root's in a hurry! He skips down the track and launches Thakur over long-off for four. He follows it up with a reverse ramp for six! England need 36 runs.
ENG 331/3 in 70 overs: Bairstow, who has been quiet for a while, moves to 97 by pulling Thakur for four. England need 47 runs . FOUR! Joe Root gets to yet another 100, off 136 balls! This is his fifth 100 this year and 28th overall. 11th since the start of 2021. Phenomenal. Ninth against India.
ENG 310/3 in 66 overs: Root moves to 98 with two boundaries off Bumrah. The 200 stand's up as well. Meanwhile, there has been another ball change. Siraj has replaced Shami. Loud appeal for lbw against Bairstow. Not given. Bumrah beats Bairstow's inside edge but the latter is struck on the thigh which means the ball's going over. The 64th over from Bumrah is a maiden, the first of the day and the first in 29 overs.Shami meanwhile is struggling to get the line right on his inswingers - second time the ball flies past Pant for 4 byes. Root meanwhile plays a flamboyant drive through covers for four, inching closer to yet another 100.
ENG 288/3 in 62 overs: The target is less than 100 now. Bumrah's looked off-colour. Hasn't got his line and length right. Bairstow flicks Bumrah through mid-on for four more. Bumrah has replaced Siraj. Mohammed Shami is sharing the attack. Meanwhile, there has been another change of ball. The lights are on at Edgbaston. Bairstow collects two fours off Shami as England chip away at the target.
ENG 263/3 in 58 overs: Out come Bairstow and Root. Overcast skies. Siraj to start things off. Root on strike. Siraj starts with a bouncer. Root sways out of the line. Next ball comes in sharply and raps Root on the pads. Stifled appeal for lbw. Not given. If England chase this down, it will be the eighth largest in Test history. Root gets a single third ball. Bairstow pinches two next ball, thanks to a misfield from Pujara. Another single off the last ball.
14:31: Michael Atherton thinks Jadeja was bowling at the wrong end yesterday - the rough would work better for him at the pavilion end. 23 overs till the new ball but the way Bairstow and Root are going at the moment, they might just render the new ball obsolete. It continues to be overcast and cool in Birmingham this morning. That said, there is reportedly very little chance of rain, which, if you are an Indian fan, isn't good news.
14.23: Edgbaston will be packed to the rafters today, following the examples of Trent Bridge and Headingley in offering free tickets on the fifth day. Meanwhile, here's Jimmy Anderson talking to Sky Sports: “We were up against it [yesterday], had seven wickets to get, but we had that belief that we’d go out there and really challenge it. Ben had the strength of mind to say how we had to go about it and it paid off. The ball wasn’t doing much so the short stuff was the way to go.”
14:00 : Welcome back. Root is on 76 off 112 balls and Bairstow 72 off 87. They have steadied England after three wickets fell in three overs either side of tea, threatening to spoil a spectacular start by openers Alex Lees and Zak Crawley. The two had added 107 in just 21.4 overs. Will Root and Bairstow see England home with relative ease or will there be a final twist in the tale? It's quite overcast over Edgbaston at the moment. Indian bowlers would hope those conditions prevail when they come out to bowl. England have had three successful chases of 279, 299 and 296 against New Zealand. Can they add one more to the tally?
ENGLAND 259/3 IN 57 OVERS AT STUMPS (Root 76*, Bairstow 72*; Bumrah 2-53)
HOW DAY 4 PANNED OUT
England is closing in on a historic win over India in the fifth Test after a riveting fourth day at Edgbaston. Chasing 378, the host side moved to 259-3, needing 119 more on the final day. REPORT
TRIVIA
India has never won a Test at Edgbaston, losing six and drawing one on the 1986 tour.
Bumrah is the first fast bowler to captain India's Test team since Kapil Dev in 1987.
Comments
SHARE