Root, Bairstow put England in command of a mammoth chase
Root, Bairstow put England in command of a mammoth chase. During the hosts’ run chase of 378, Joe Root (76*) and Jonny Bairstow (72*) formed an excellent connection.
England retaliates against India’s aggression.
After a strong third day of play, India’s batsmen made a strong start on the fourth day. It appeared as though Pujara was more aggressive, but a dazzling cut attempt against Stuart Broad lost him his wicket at 66, while Shreyas Iyer fell to a short-ball ploy and was bowled by Matthew Potts for 19.
In an attempt to reverse sweep Jack Leach after he had reached his half-century, Pant walked back for 57 after failing to connect. As the remaining Indian hitters failed to make a significant impact, a procession ensued.
After lunch, Ben Stokes took three more wickets to finish off India, who were all all out for 245. The aim for England to chase down was 278.
England’s first-time starters are aggressive right from the outset.
England finally had a decent start from their openers, as they immediately put the pressure on the Indian spinners. Alex Lees was the aggressor, while Zak Crawley looked steady. At a time when England’s total had beyond 100 runs, Lees sped to his second career fifty in just 44 deliveries.
The Indian bowlers failed to elicit any extreme movement from the pitch and were placed firmly on the backfoot after the hosts’ good start with the bat. This time, however, it was skipper Jasprit Bumrah who delivered the goods and broke the partnership by dismissing Crawley for 46 in the first innings.
Root and Bairstow keep the ship afloat.
The first ball after tea saw India maintain their lead, as Bumrah dismissed Ollie Pope. With the wicket, he surpassed Kapil Dev’s record of most Indian pacer wickets in an England series (23). Joe Root and Lees had a terrible mix-up and Lees was run out for 56. England now faced a difficult situation as India had their tails up. That’s exactly what Root and Bairstow accomplished.
A 150-run partnership between the two batsmen was put together, with the pair rotating the strike and punishing the bad deliveries with a boundary. England is well-positioned to chase down the score on day five after Root and Jonny Bairstow both reached 50. The Indian pacers appeared to be useless in the face of the pair’s brilliance, as the runs kept on coming.
In order to win the series, England must score 119 runs, while India must take seven wickets.