‘Teams will be better than us, but not braver than us’
England came to Edgbaston having gunned down targets of 277, 299 and 296 in their last three Test matches. On Tuesday they made it four in a row, pulling off their highest successful chase in Test cricket as Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow completed sparkling unbeaten hundreds, making India's celebrated bowling attack look utterly bereft of ideas in near-perfect batting conditions.
Set 378 to win, England finished on 378-3, with former captain Root 142 not out and Bairstow 114 not out -- his second hundred of the match after he made 106 in the hosts' first-innings 284.
Victory saw England level this five-match series at 2-2.
The 8th largest run-chase in history has been a stroll in the park. Bat hasn't faced a challenge from the ball for the last 200 runs.
"We're trying to rewrite how Test cricket is being played in England," Ben Stokes said of the team's new approach since he assumed captaincy and Brendon McCullum took over as the head coach.
"All the plans we've put together in the last 4-5 weeks we're going to try and carry forward.
"We know that we want to give some new life to Test cricket. The support we received has been fantastic in the short time that we've been around.
"Inspiring the next generation is what we want to do. We want to bring in new fans and want to leave a mark on Test cricket."
Few expected England to win so easily after conceding a first innings lead of 132 and set a target they had never been able to achieve.
India stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah, leading the side in place of the Covid-hit Rohit Sharma, regretted how his side let the opposition take control of the game.
He's striking the ball so clean, he looks very calm and in control out there. It's great fun and it's great to see someone I've known from being 12 years old, start to realise his true potential in this format of the game.
"Test cricket is never easy," said the fast bowler. "We had three good days and we were a little short with the bat and we let the opposition in."
In chase of the record target, Alex Lees and Zak Crawley got them off to a flyer with a rapid century stand.
Even after they lost three quick wickets, centurions Root and Bairstow continued to play their shots.
Stokes said having clarity about individual roles was key to their stunning success.
"When you have clarity like we do at the moment in the dressing room, it makes totals like that and just the game itself a lot easier.
"(The target of 378) five-six weeks ago would have been scary, but it was good," said the all-rounder.
He quoted team mate Jack Leach to articulate the new team philosophy: "Some times, teams will be better than us, but no one will be braver than us, quote by Jack Leach."
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