The 5th test between India and England saw the visitors having the upper hand for the first three days but the hosts rode on centuries from Joe Root (142*) and Jonny Bairstow (114*) to chase down a massive target of 378, their highest-ever in Tests, in the final innings to claim a seven-wicket victory.
In the second inning, Root and Bairstow demolished the Indian bowlers who had dismissed the same team for 284 runs in the first inning. The English batters had a good day on a flat track, while Jasprit Bumrah and the rest of the Indian seamers received no assistance from the wickets.
Legendary India batter Sunil Gavaskar, when questioned about how this could happen on a pitch where three innings had already been played, said that the Edgbaston pitch has traditionally helped batters as the days progressed.
"Well, the roller does play a role for the immediate half an hour or so because it flattens the dents or whatever that might be there and there could be quite if you dents if there are fast bowlers who are pounding the ball on the grass. The roller just helps to even that up," Gavaskar told Sports Today.
"The Birmingham pitch has generally been very good for batting as the days go on. Maybe day 1 it is in favour of the new ball bowlers. But as the days go on it becomes a very good pitch to bat on. Very little help for the spinner.” he added.
The former India captain said that the pitch had flattened out on the final day, which benefitted the home team.
“If you look at the ball that dismissed Kohli, it bounced from length. And nothing of that sort really happened when our bowlers were bowling. Whether our bowlers didn't bowl that length and line, I am not too sure. The pitch just seemed to have flattened out and that was to England's advantage," he added.
Due to this loss, the five-match Test series ended at 2-2, causing the Pataudi Trophy to be shared between the two sides. The ‘Men in Blue’ will now take on the same opposition in the limited-overs series.
(SPORTS TODAY INPUTS)
