What is England’s highest successful Test run-chase under Bazball ahead of ENG vs IND 2025 1st Test?

After Day 4, England pacer Josh Tounge straightaway said that they were only thinking about a win. That's not some mere words from the Englishman; that's the reflection of the belief and confidence they possessed.

Since the appointment of former New Zealand opener Brandon McCullum as the head coach of the team, England has adopted their unique way to play matches in the Whites. The partnership of McCullum and Captain Ben Stokes has made the squad confident enough to play a fluent brand of cricket even in dying moments, which is labeled as the 'Bazball.'

If Team England has to win the ongoing Headingley Test on the fifth day of the match, then they have to produce a top-notch batting performance, which they previously did. So far with the 'Bazball' technique, England achieved their most successful run chase against India back in 2022—a record-breaking 378-run chase at Edgbaston, Birmingham. England lost only 3 wickets to claim the victory. In the second innings, centuries from Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow did the unthinkable. 

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England got the foundation they needed

The duo of Joe and Jonny stitched a partnership of 269 runs to chase down the mountain-size target. Root scored an unbeaten 142, while Bairstow bagged an unbeaten 114-run innings. Before that, Alex Lees (56) and Zak Crawley (46)—then the opening pair of England—founded a solid 107-run partnership to ease some pressure from the middle order. In the first innings of the match, India scored 416 and England 284. In the next essay, it was 245 and 378/3, respectively. England won the match by 7 wickets. 

In the ongoing Test in Leeds, England needs 371 to pull off another monumental success. Like in 2022, the openers produced a blazing partnership in the beginning of the final run chase.