On day five\u2019s play, Ben Duckett smashed a superb 149 as England chased down 371 in the final session to go 1-0 up in the five-match series. It is also the second highest total England have chased in Tests, as skipper Stokes\u2019 decision to bowl first at Headingley was justified at the end.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cHats off to this England side led by Ben Stokes. They\u2019ve taken what used to be a taboo in Test cricket \u2014 that chasing 250 or 300-plus in the final innings is near impossible \u2014 and completely turned it on its head. Regardless of pitch conditions or pressure, they\u2019ve looked that belief in the face and said, We\u2019re going to think differently. They\u2019ve begun treating those targets as achievable.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cAnd guess what \u2014 even on Day 5, it\u2019s the fielding team that ends up feeling more pressure, because now, they\u2019re the ones who have to ensure a win. That\u2019s the mental shift. Once you start challenging long-standing beliefs and inherited wisdom, you then need the kind of batters we saw today to actually pull it off. Joe Root, of course, is always there when England are chasing down something big.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cBut the platform was set beautifully by Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley. Unfortunately for India, I have to say, the pitch went completely flat during the morning session. Bumrah gave it everything, so did the other seamers, but the surface just went to sleep. Suddenly, it started playing like an Arun Jaitley Stadium day-five pitch \u2014 completely dead. And that\u2019s what made India\u2019s job of winning the game so much harder,\u201d said Manjrekar on JioHotstar.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
He also reflected on local lad, England\u2019s premier batter Joe Root, hitting a match-winning 53 not out, in the hosts\u2019 acing the chase on a thrilling day at Headingley. \"This is something he\u2019s made a habit of \u2014 even in another format. In 50-over cricket recently, he played a brilliant innings where he remained 160 not out in a big run chase, and the next-best contribution in that innings was around 50 or 60.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cThat\u2019s Joe Root \u2014 one of the all-time greats. It\u2019s always good to see players like Joe Root and Kane Williamson in Test cricket. We don\u2019t get to watch them enough in this part of the world, and when we do, we\u2019re reminded of the calibre of batters operating around the globe.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\"A couple of years ago, Williamson played some all-time great Test innings, and here was Root once again giving us a glimpse of his mastery \u2014 how easily he saw England through. They had just lost Ben Stokes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cThat\u2019s Joe Root \u2014 one of the all-time greats. It\u2019s always good to see players like Joe Root and Kane Williamson in Test cricket. We don\u2019t get to watch them enough in this part of the world, and when we do, we\u2019re reminded of the calibre of batters operating around the globe.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Also Read: <\/b> LIVE Cricket Score<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n