England Need 119 Runs, India Eye 7 Wickets on Day 5 in Edgbaston

Jonny Bairstow celebrates a fifty

Image: IANS

England are in a strong position to win the Edgbaston Test against India and need 119 runs on Day 5. India need 7 wickets to win the game. The visitors had set England a target of 378 but came up against an England batting who were solid. Alex Lees and Zak Crawley at the top first with a century stand, before Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow scored big half-centuries as well to further England's case in the contest.

India were bowled out for 245 in the second innings with Ben Stokes picking 4 wickets. For England, in the fourth innings, Bairstow finished unbeaten on 72 with Root 76 not out at stumps.

Root and Bairstow put on a 150-plus stand to put England in a position of strength. England finished on 259/3.

Day 4; India Begin With Their Noses Out in Front

India batters Cheteshwar Pujara and Rishabh Pant had looked solid on Day 3, and needed to continue with more of that the next morning. For the first half-hour, the left-right combination seemed to be following the script well, while England had started off the bowling with Joe Root at one end.

Pant and Pujara added 28 more to the cause before a cut shot from Pujara landed straight down Alex Lees' throat at point, giving Stuart Broad and England the first break through of the day.

Pant at the other end was marching along, and completed his fifty of 76 deliveries. He had Shreyas Iyer for company, who had a wobbly start facing the short deliveries, but was settling in as well.

But just as the first hour was to roll over, Shreyas fell into the trap of the pull against Matthew Potts, and was caught at mid-wicket by Anderson for 19. India lost their second wicket in the morning session, just the start England wanted.

Pant was given Jack Leach to face after that, and he looked to attack, along expected lines. However, an attempted reverse hoick off Leach, caught the edge and Joe Root took an easy catch at slip to dismiss Pant for 57. England picked their third wicket of the morning. India led by 330 runs at the time.

Shardul took a blow on the head off Potts and was dismissed soon after, trying to pull towards fine-leg. He was caught by Zak Crawley for 4. Jadeja meanwhile was taking his time and would now have just the bowlers for company.

India started Day 4 with a lead of 257 runs and went to Lunch with the lead 361, with three wickets still in the hut. Ravindra jadeja was unbeaten on 17 while Mohammed Shami was on 13.

After Lunch, in the first over itself, Shami was caught at square leg of Ben Stokes for 13. Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah hung in there, but weren't able to score quickly. And a short while later, Stokes had Jadeja playing it on to his own stumps for 23. At the time India led by 368 runs.

Bumrah hammered Stokes for a six after that and tried to repeat it, which is when he was caught at fine leg. India's innings ended at 245, leaving England a target of 378.

England Chase

England openers Zak Crawley and Alex Lees though have seen out the initial few overs and are looking good. England got to their fifty in the fourth innings in the 9th over, which was Ravindra Jadeja's first too.

The openers went from strength to strength in the afternoon session, playing attacking and sensible cricket to thwart the Indian attack. None of the bowlers seemed to be very threatening in the afternoon as the openers marched on towards a century stand, putting England well and truly on top.

The attacking approach saw England reach the three-figure mark in the 20th over itself. This is the first time England have had three 100+ opening partnerships in a series since 1990 home rubber against India. A change of ball in the 22nd over worked wonders for India, as Bumrah went through Crawley's defence, cleaning him up for 46.

At Tea, England were 271 runs behind with 9 wickets in hand.

And first ball after Tea, Bumrah struck again, getting the outside edge of Ollie Pope who was caught by Pant for 0. In the next over, Joe Root and Alex Lees had a moment of miscommunication and the opener was run-out for 56. Shami with the throw to Jadeja who took off the bails swiftly.

Root survived a close call or two after that but bounced back with a couple of cracking hits against Shami as India hunted for a fourth wicket. Just before the 40th over, Root started to go pick off the runs of Jadeja, while Bairstow was still taking his time. After 40 overs were completed, England needed 204 runs to win.

While the boundaries dried up briefly, Root and Bairstow were allowed to run the easy singles, as they kept chipping away. Root brought up his fifty in a Thakur over and England also got to 200 a few deliveries later. Root and Bairstow brought up their century stand off 141 deliveries in the 48th over.

India's shoulders continued to drop as Bairstow got to his fifty soon while Root was powering on towards a century. Even the edges were going through the gaps for Bairstow, who had been dropped once earlier in the slips too.

For England, in the fourth innings, Bairstow finished unbeaten on 72 with Root 76 not out at stumps. On Day 5, England need another 119 runs to win the game. Root and Bairstow put on a 150-plus stand to put England in a position of strength. England finished on 259/3.

What's Happened So Far?

At Edgbaston, India were asked to bat first on Day 1 by Ben Stokes and England. The veteran James Anderson then got stuck into the Indian top order along with Matthew Potts. But after that, mixed with a rain delay, it was Rishabh Pant’s glorious century and a 200-plus partnership with Ravindra Jadeja that put India on top at the end of Day 1.

A rain-hit day 2 saw Jadeja complete his century and then Jasprit Bumrah smash the most expensive over in Test history of Stuart Broad. The jokes and comparisons with Yuvraj Singh too were flying on social media understandably as India posted 416.

Then captain Bumrah took over with the ball and knocked over 3 in quick time before Mohammed Siraj got Joe Root’s wicket. Mohammed Shami had Jack Leach’s number as Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes had to played out the remainder of Day 2.

On Day 3, England's Jonny Bairstow hammered a flurry of boundaries and piled on 106, but hardly had substantial support from the rest of the batting. England conceded a 132-run lead before India added another 125 runs with Cheteshwar Pujara scoring a half-century and Rishabh Pant also well in at Stumps.