Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow slammed unbeaten fifties to lead England's mammoth chase of 378 against India on day four of rescheduled fifth Test at Edgbaston on Monday. At stumps, the hosts were 259/3 in 57 overs, needing just 119 on a sold-out final day to level the five-match series being played for the Pataudi Trophy.
On a day on which rain chose not to interrupt play, England made merry as Root and Bairstow went back to the dressing room after making 76 off 110 balls and 73 off 89 deliveries respectively. Before this, on a pitch that had variable bounce and some turn for spinners, England took out the last seven Indian wickets for 120 runs, with Ben Stokes adding three more scalps, to bowl the visitors out for 245 in 81.5 overs.
Then, the effect of the heavy roller on the pitch was apparent by the terrific opening stand of 107 between Alex Lees (56) and Zak Crawley (46), before a ball change after 20.5 overs fetched India three wickets in as many overs. But Root and Bairstow's unconquered stand of 150 meant the day belonged to the hosts.
That's Stumps on Day 4 of the Edgbaston Test!
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 4, 2022
England move to 259/3 before the close of play.
See you tomorrow for Day 5 action.
Scorecard https://t.co/xOyMtKrYxM #TeamIndia | #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/N48XjJFZF8
India struck on the very first ball after tea as Bumrah enticed Ollie Pope to poke at a back-of-the-length ball coming in, which the batter did. But the ball held its line and took Pope's outer edge behind to Pant, departing without troubling the scorers.
In the next over, Lees inside-edged off Ravindra Jadeja into the leg-side and had no idea where the ball had gone. With Root already running from the non-striker's end, Lees ran belatedly and was run out easily at the non-striker's end.
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