Didn't think of stepping away from the game: Joe Root after England's record win vs India

Joe Root played a crucial role in the side’s emphatic and record-breaking win against India at Edgbaston. The hosts who were handed a target of 378 runs won the match by 7 wickets. The home side was in a spot of bother on the penultimate day of the Test after they lost three quick wickets after a steady start. But Root along with Jonny Bairstow provided the resistance and stitched a stand of 269* runs for the fourth wicket. Root remained unbeaten at 142 while Bairstow, who has been in sublime form, scored 114*. This is also Root’s fifth century in the year. The right-hander talked about the win in the post-match presentation and explained the clarity that the players have about their role in the side. “Love playing. It’s as simple as that. The environment has been great and the guys are having fun in the last four weeks. There is absolute clarity when we were chasing it down and there was total belief. Absolutely didn’t think of stepping away from the game. There are a bunch of lovely lads and Stokes has the backing of everyone. Our responsibility is to keep everyone entertained and keep it fun,” he said. Root further lauded Bairstow and the way he has been batting for quite sometime now. “[On his form] It is something you are constantly searching for and something you rarely find. You want to keep it as fun as possible. Still watching Jonny bat is great, I just wanted to give him strike. I have accepted that you aren’t going to have success all the time. As a 5-10 year old kid, having fun is what you want and that is what is the most enjoyable part of the career. We have been riding a brilliant wave of confidence after brilliant performances against NZ. The start the two openers got us off to was superb and they put the pressure back on. It made it a lot more easier for us and those scores were a lot more than what was seen on the score sheet. It was great fun doing it,” he added. India were leading the series 2-1 when it was halted last year due to Covid-19 cases in the visitors’ camp. The Test was rescheduled for this year and England managed to hold on to a draw in the series with a win in this final encounter.