England cricket team started Day 5 of the rescheduled fifth Test against India as the firm favourites to win the game, considering the way they started playing in the second innings as well. Team India did very well in the first innings but failed to do well in the second innings. England bounced back well in the second innings and restricted India to 245 in the second innings and got a target of 378. While the hosts got off to a steady start, it was Joe Root who stole the show.
After having a 104-run stand for the opening wicket, India dismissed them but Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root steadied the ship and sealed the deal. They added a 200-plus partnership for the fourth wicket and Joe Root who is in sublime form went on to score a brilliant century. In the process, Joe Root smashed a reverse scoop shot for a maximum off Shardul Thakur, who pitched the ball right in the slot and got punished.
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Just a reverse scoop for 6️⃣ off a seamer while we chase a record total 🤯
Scorecard/Clips: https://t.co/jKoipF4U01
🏴 #ENGvIND 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/DCKPKExRxz
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 5, 2022
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After the win, Joe Root said: “Love playing. It’s as simple as that. The environment has been great and the guys are having fun in the last four weeks. There is absolute clarity when we were chasing it down and there was total belief. Absolutely didn’t think of stepping away from the game. There are a bunch of lovely lads and Stokes has the backing of everyone. Our responsibility is to keep everyone entertained and keep it fun. [On his form] It is something you are constantly searching for and something you rarely find. You want to keep it as fun as possible. Still watching Jonny bat is great, I just wanted to give him strike.”
“I have accepted that you aren’t going to have success all the time. As a 5-10 year old kid, having fun is what you want and that is what is the most enjoyable part of the career. We have been riding a brilliant wave of confidence after brilliant performances against NZ. The start the two openers got us off to was superb and they put the pressure back on. It made it a lot more easier for us and those scores were a lot more than what was seen on the score sheet. It was great fun doing it,” Joe Root concluded.
