Yorkshire teammates Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root struck unbeaten hundreds to power England to a series-levelling victory, also their highest ever successful run-chase in Test cricket.
Ben Stoke’s men started the final day at an overnight 259/3 – still 119 away from the 378-run target – and the task was completed within the first 90 minutes of play. The architects in chief were Root and Bairstow, with both converting their overnight seventies into historical hundreds.
Ex-England skipper Root was the first to the landmark, as a neat trademark, late dab off Mohammed Siraj lobbed on the bounce over a leaping Shubman Gill to the third man boundary. A ball later, he’d celebrate it with a sublime cover drive to get England within 60 runs of the target. Root now has 28 Test hundreds – the most among active players – with him surpassing Virat Kohli and Steve Smith, who have 27 each. A staggering 11 of Root’s 28 tons have come since the start of 2021.
The outrageousness once again came to the fore, with the former England skipper reverse-scooping Shardul Thakur for a six over the slips, a shot he had already pulled off against Tim Southee and Neil Wagner earlier this summer.
Bairstow carried on with his imperious run, bringing up his second hundred of the game – and a fourth in five innings – the standalone non-hundred knock being his 44-ball 71* in a 296-run chase at Headingley a week ago. He was stranded in the nervous nineties for almost 13 overs before a gentle nudge towards square-leg off Ravindra Jadeja got him to the three-figure mark.
He struck three boundaries off Thakur next over, and Root’s reverse-swept four off Jadeja got the scores levelled, and a single with a similar stroke a ball later sealed the deal for England.
The 378 runs were gunned down in mere 77.4 overs, and it now stands the eighth highest successful run-chase in Tests – the best ever for England – bettering their 359-run overhaul against Australia in Stokes finish at Headingley three years ago.
Root remained unbeaten on 142 with 19 fours and a six, while Bairstow’s 114 featured 15 fours and a maximum. The unbeaten 269-run stand is the third highest in a successful fourth innings run-chase in Test cricket history. The pair had started when England had stumbled from 107/0 to 109/3 by the start of the final session’s play on Day 4.
India seamers failed to create an impact on the final day, with some wayward bowling allowing the pair to score freely. There were occasional uncontrolled balls down the leg-side, evading Rishabh Pant for byes and leg-byes.
Jadeja came late into the attack and tried to exploit the rough outside the right-handers’ leg stump, but that caused little threat to the well-settled pair. India had created a genuine chance on Day 4 when Siraj induced an outside edge from Bairstow, only for Hanuma Vihari to let it burst through his hands for a four.
The series, carried on from last year, ended in a 2-2 draw. India had lost each of their last previous series in the country – 0-4 in 2011, 1-3 in 2014 and 1-4 in 2018 – after having won 1-0 under Rahul Dravid in 2007.
Brief scores
India 416 (Pant 146, Jadeja 104, Anderson 5/60) and 245 (Pujara 66, Pant 57, Stokes 4/33) lose to England 284 (Bairstow 106, Siraj 4/66, Bumrah 3/68) and 378/3 (Root 142*, Bairstow 114*) by seven wickets.
