Root, Bairstow record tons as England bulldoze India in chase of 378 in Birmingham

Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow smashed unbeaten hundreds as England thumped India by seven wickets in the rescheduled Test in Birmingham on Tuesday (July 5) to square the five-match series 2-2.

The in-form had added 150 by Stumps on Day 4 to put England in command. Set to chase 378, they needed merely 119 runs with seven wickets in hand to clinch the Test and level the series.

For India to make a comeback into the game, they needed to strike early. However, Root and Bairstow did not give the visitors even a glimmer of hope as they bulldozed their way to victory.

Root returned unbeaten on 142, while Bairstow brought up his second century of the Test to return undefeated on 114. Bairstow set the tone on Day 5, smashing Mohammed Shami for consecutive fours in the second over of the day.

After that, it was basically about a contest between England and England - who gets to three figures first? Before that, Root brought up the 200-run stand by whacking consecutive boundaries off Jasprit Bumrah.

Root got to three figures first, stabbing a delivery from Mohammed Siraj over second slip for yet another four. Bairstow eased to his second hundred of the match later, flicking Ravindra Jadeja off his toes for a single.

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Root, Bairstow go berserk after crossing tons

Once the result of the match became a formality, Root and Bairstow went on a rampage and took England past the target in a hurry. The former treated Shardul Thakur like a spinner, dancing down the track and whacking him over mid-off for a four. In the same over, he reverse-scooped the pacer over third man for a maximum as India could only watch in agony.

Bairstow joined the attack by clobbering Siraj for three consecutive fours as the target came down to single figures. The winning run came when Root reverse-swept Jadeja for a single as England completed the highest run-chase in their history. The Root-Bairstow stand was worth 269* as England continued their love affair with chases.