India lost the fifth and final Test against England by seven wickets as the home team completed a record run chase of 378 runs with relative ease. While the talismanic Joe Root and swashbuckling Jonny Bairstow's hundreds in the fourth innings of the match contributed heavily to India's defeat, captain Jasprit Bumrah blamed his side's poor show with the bat in their second innings. According to Jasprit Bumrah, India failed to capitalize on their 132-run lead in the first innings and lost the plot in their second essay after they were bowled out for 245.
India's defeat to the Ben Stokes-led side meant that the South Asian team failed to win yet another series on English soil. They last triumphed against the Three Lions in England back in 2007. India's bowlers looked “listless” and lacked ideas as Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root pummeled them for runs at will.
Bairstow and Root were involved in a match-winning unbroken 269-run partnership and eventually finished with scores of 114 and 142 respectively as England leveled the series at 2-2. The England batters resumed the day on their overnight score of 259/3 and never appeared in any sort of trouble as India's bowlers failed to put them under any kind of pressure.
“That's the beauty of Test cricket, even if you have three good days. We fell short with the bat yesterday and that is where we let the opposition in to let the match slip away from us,” Jasprit Bumrah said in the post-match presentation ceremony.
“Ifs and buts can always be there. If you go back, if there was no rain in the first match, we could have won the series. But England played really well,” the 28-year-old speedster added.
It was Jasprit Bumrah's first match as India's captain in the longest format of the game, and despite the loss, he thoroughly enjoyed leading the national team.
“The captaincy is not what I decide. I like responsibility. It was a good challenge, a new challenge. It was an honor to lead the team and a great experience,” Jasprit Bumrah elaborated.
Even current head coach Rahul Dravid acknowledged that India's failure to post an imposing total on the board in the second innings cost them dearly.
“I would say that we controlled the game on three days but maybe, we did not bat that well in the second innings, and in our bowling, we were not able to sustain that intensity and we must give credit to England for the way they played. Root and Bairstow formed a brilliant partnership, we got 2-3 chances but were not able to capitalize. But you need to applaud the opponent,” Rahul Dravid said.
“We have not batted well as well, but if you look at all the second innings of Test matches overseas this year, the batting has probably been not up to the scratch as well so in both areas, we have started the Test well but have not been able to finish well and yeah, we need to get better with that and certainly improve,” the India stalwart added.
England skipper Ben Stokes, on the other hand, declared that his team was on a mission to create its own identity and brand in Test cricket.
“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.”
“We are trying to rewrite how Test cricket is played in England. All our plans from the last four-five weeks is what we want to take ahead. Bowling on the top of off isn't important, it is all about taking ten wickets,” he said.
“We want to give some new life to Test cricket. 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,” Ben Stokes added.
Jonny Bairstow, who was adjudged Man-of-the-match for his twin hundreds in the match, stated that England were never in two minds about chasing down the target as their batters believed the score was gettable on a pitch that had eased out on days 4 and 5.
“It is great fun at the moment. I am stripping it back to the basics. The last few years have been tough on me but the last few months have been fantastic,” Jonny Bairstow said.
“Day five was over in 90 minutes. I just have an enjoyment factor now. I am not afraid of failing and just want to put the pressure on the opposition. We are going to lose games with the approach we have, but it is a positive fun brand of cricket to play,” he concluded.
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