'Made batting look very easy'- Sachin Tendulkar lauds Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow's fearless batting in Edgbaston Test

Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar has come forward and hailed Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow for their whirlwind innings that decimated India in the rescheduled fifth and final Test match at Edgbaston. The duo was involved in an unbeaten 269-run stand for the fourth wicket as they gave the lethal Indian bowling attack no chance to pull off any sort of a miracle. While Root remained not out on 142, Bairstow finished with an unbeaten 114.

Taking to his official Twitter handle, the batting maestro wrote, “Special win by England to level the series. Joe Root & Jonny Bairstow have been in sublime form and made batting look very easy. Congratulations to England on a convincing victory. ” At the end of the tweet, Tendulkar also tagged England’s new Test coach Brendon McCullum.

Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow took Indian bowlers by storm

Needing just 119 runs on the final day, the middle-order duo wasted no time and got the job done way before the lunch break as they took the helpless Indian bowlers to the cleaners at regular intervals. The bowlers could find no momentum on a surface that seemingly had something to offer for the bowlers in the morning session.

While India had no chance of a comeback on the fifth day, the scenario was pretty much different on day four when they gained the upper hand having England on the mat at 109/3 with the pace battery asking some tough questions to Root and Bairstow. The plot looked perfect until Jonny Bairstow was given a reprieve on 14 when Hanuma Vihari dropped a regulation catch at slips which then raced away for four runs.

That was indeed the turning point of the contest as the English batters never looked back from there on and kept punishing the bowlers to reduce the deficit. The duo also went on to score their respective centuries. While this was Bairstow’s back-to-back ton in this match, Root went on to register his 28th Test century. This was also his fifth three-figure score in 2022 and fourth in the just-concluded series.