Tendulkar, Azharuddin, Jaffer hail England's record chase against India in 5th Test, reserves praises for Root, Bairstow

Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow helped England achieve the impossible and set a new world record in Birmingham as the hosts successfully chased down the total to beat India by seven wickets

378 runs! 78 overs! And against this Indian bowling attack! England had an impossible target in sight as India stood on top even until the end of the second session of the rescheduled fifth Test at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground. Nobody gave them a chance, especially after their unimpressive batting in the first innings, where they were folded for 284 runs. However, Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow helped England achieve the impossible and set a new world record in Birmingham as the hosts successfully chased down the total to beat India by seven wickets and subsequently level the series 2-2. The record chase drew immense praise form former and present cricketers.

Jonny Bairstow with Joe Root; Sachin Tendulkar

England openers - Alex Lees and Zak Crawley - provided them a perfect start to the chase as they stitched a 107-run stand with the former notching up his half-century. However, in a space of 15 deliveries, England went three down losing both their openers and Ollie Pope for a duck.

The onus hence were on two in-form batters in Bairstow and Root. The former ramped up his second century in the Test, becoming only the third ever England batter to achieve the feat at home against India while Root continued his sublime form to score his third century this summer and fifth in 2022. Together, the pair added an unbeaten 269-run stand which is the fourth-highest stand in the fourth innings of a Test match and the only second unbeaten partnership in Test history.

Here is how cricket legends reacted to England's win…

"When the lads play like this, it makes my job easier. When you have clarity like we have in the dressing room, it makes chasing totals like this easier. 378 would have been scary five weeks ago, but now it's all good. Jonny and Root will get all the credit, but the precedent was set up by the way the openers played against Bumrah and Shami with the new ball. It is all about taking wickets and taking ten wickets," England captain Ben Stokes said after the big win.