England produce record chase to win first Test against India

A calm Joe Root saw through England's record five-wicket chase at Headingley as the hosts went 1-0 up in the five match Test series against India. This was England's second highest successful fourth-innings chase in Tests.

Coincidentally their highest chase in the fourth innings had also come against India two years ago at Edgbaston when they chased down 378.

Staring at the target of 371, England got off to a resilient start early on Day 5, navigating the entire first hour without losing a single wicket with the Indian attack relentless in their pursuit for a wicket.

Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley, who had navigated a tricky period at the end of Day 4, continued a composed batting effort against India's frontline pacers, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, as well as the second change bowlers of Shardul Thakur and Prasidh Krishna.

The duo built around their opening wicket stand with composure, gradually reducing the target to under 300. In the process, Duckett brought up a well-crafted half-century, his 15th in Test cricket.

The pair amped up the scoring rate in the second hour, bringing up England's hundred off just 24.3 overs, maintaining their strong momentum. Even a ball change in the 27th over did little to disrupt their rhythm, as India continued to search for a breakthrough.

With no wickets falling in the first session, England continued to assert their dominance after Lunch, steadily closing in on the target. Despite testing spells by Bumrah and Siraj, the English openers remained resolute, capitalising on the occasional loose deliveries to keep the scoreboard ticking.

Duckett had threatened to take the game away with his aggressive strokeplay, shedding the caution of the morning session and batting with his natural attacking flair, bringing up his sixth Test century in just 121 balls - his second in as many games to follow the century he scored in the one-off Test against Zimbabwe in May. Rain briefly halted play, but the interruption was minimal as the action resumed quickly.

Things turned around for India post the rain break as Prasidh Krishna struck twice in quick succession snapping the wickets of Zak Crawley (65) and Ollie Pope (8), as the tourist brought a bit of momentum back in their favor in the second session.

Shardul Thakur's successive strikes off two deliveries, nabbing the big wickets of Duckett and Harry Brook, helped India put further pressure on England. It was then that skipper Ben Stokes and Joe Root combined to keep the scoreboard ticking.

But just as the pair pushed England towards the target in the final session, Ravindra Jadeja added a final twist by removing Stokes, spicing up the final session of the series opener. Root however, held the other end notching up another half-century in process with Jamie Smith, who scripted the finish at Headingley with five wickets in hand.

England will take on India in the second Test at Edgbaston, from 2 July.