Birmingham: Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow gave England an edge over India in a historic chase as they are just 119 runs away from levelling the series on Day 4 of the delayed fifth Test at Edgbaston here on Monday.
Both the seasoned English pair Root (76 no) and Bairstow (72 no) made fifties and stitched an unbeaten fourth wicket stand worth 150 runs which guided England to 259 for 3 at stumps.
India took early gain on an absorbing day's play by adding 120 runs to their overnight lead of 257, which was powered by Rishabh Pant (57) and Chesteshwar Pujara's (66) fifties.
Ben Stokes, however, ran through the Indian tail after lunch, leaving England to beat the target of 378 runs set by India, which is 19 runs more than they had chased down in the historic Leeds Test in 2019.
England peners Alex Lees and Zak Crawley (46) gave them a rollicking start by stringing up 100 runs in just 20 overs. They unsettled the Indian bowlers and forced Captain Jasprit Bumrah to make amends in the bowling attack.
He brought on spinner Ravindra Jadeja early on, but it proved costly as Lees smacked 10 runs in an over. He was also equally severe to Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur as he scripted a 44 balls half century that included 8 boundaries.
Just when the game was slipping away from India, Bumrah produced a beauty at the ened of the second session by cleaning up Crawley with a devastating nipper. It lifted India's spirits in a slackening session for them.
Bumrah once again showed his class by rattling up Ollie Pope, forcing him to nick the very first ball of the final session. England lost Lees in a run out shortly after due to a poor call by Root, turning the tide in India's favour.
Lees had scored a fabulous 56 runs and gave India a chance to regain a stronghold on the game once again.
Indian spinners bowled a tight leash, drying up the runs as Jonny Bairstow and Root started off by padding away the balls pitched outside leg stump. This tactic did not work as they went after Shardul and Siraj.
Brief Scores: England 284 & 259/3 (Joe Root 76*, Jonny Bairstow 72*, Alex Lees 56, Zak Crawley 46; Jasprit Bumrah 2-53) trail India 245 & 416 by 119 runs. (UNI)
