Under the new management of captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum, England have stamped their authority in Test cricket in the past one month, having won all their four Tests while chasing down targets of 250+ in the final innings.
While England whitewashed New Zealand in a three-Test series at home last month, they defeated India in the just-concluded Edgbaston Test.
The hosts were set a target of 378 by India in the fourth innings and they pulled it off without breaking a sweat on the back of sparkling centuries from Joe Root (142*) and Jonny Bairstow (114*).
With this victory, the Three Lions didn’t only register their highest successful run chase in Tests but also level the five-match series 2-2.
Speaking after the game, Stokes said he wanted India to set a target of 450 for them as he wants his team to push the boundaries.
"Don't know where it [the line] is," he told Sky Sports. "There was a bit of me that almost wanted them (India) to get 450, to see what we'd do.
"I said yesterday after we finished the day's play, look at how teams will be viewing us at the moment, that third innings now has become a fourth innings - because they have to concentrate on how we're going to play, and they're worried about that. So to be in that position as a team, being feared before they've even finished their innings is an unbelievable place to be in. Teams don't know how to play the third innings, especially when they've got a lead."
India were in the driver’s seat for the first three days of the Edgbaston Test but Stokes was confident about his team’s ability to comeback.
"It's been the most fun five weeks I've had in my career so far," Stokes said. "I don't think everyone can understand what's happened here. When you get given clarity in what you want to do and what you want to achieve and think about bigger than results, it makes everything a lot easier. It takes away the external pressure of what international sports can throw at you. When you know what you want to go out there and do, it makes everything a lot more simple."
"We are trying to rewrite how Test cricket is being played, in England especially," he said. "All the different plans that we put together over the last four or five weeks, for every different situation is something we'll look to carry forward. It's not always about bowling top of off or drying up, it's how are we going to take wickets? That's what you need to do as a bowling attack, take 10 wickets.
"We know that we want to give new life to Test cricket, and the way that we go about it, and the support that we've received over the last five weeks has been incredible. It's amazing, in such a short space of time, we feel like we are bringing a new set of fans to the game. Inspiring the next generation is what we want to do, this game at the moment is bigger than results for us, it's about people who come in to represent England in the future, guys who come into the dressing room after. We want to leave a mark on Test cricket."
