378 would have been scary five weeks ago, but now it's all good: England captain Ben Stokes

Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow looked in a hurry on Day 5 of the Edgbaston Test between India and England. While India desperately needed breakthroughs in the morning session, the England duo scored boundaries at will, taking Indian bowlers to the cleaners to script a record win for Ben Stokes & Co. Following England's 7-wicket win against Jasprit Bumrah & Co., Stokes was all praise for England's new approach to Test cricket.

At the post-match presentation ceremony, Stokes said a 378-run target would have been scary five to six weeks ago, but with England's new fearless approach, it was no more a difficult chase.

"When the lads play like this, it makes my job easier. When you have clarity like we have in the dressing room, it makes chasing totals like this easier. 378 would have been scary five weeks ago, but now it's all good. Jonny and Root will get all the credit, but the precedent was set up by the way the openers played against Bumrah and Shami with the new ball. It is all about taking wickets and taking ten wickets," Stokes said after England chased down what was the highest successful fourth-innings run-chase against India in Tests.

Not to forget, England recently defeated New Zealand 3-0 in a three-match series where they chased down tricky fourth innings targets of 278, 299, 296 against the Kiwis.

It has been an excellent start to Brendon McCullum's new stint as the England head coach and Stokes went on to add that England want to inject new life into Test cricket.

"We are trying to rewrite how Test cricket is played in England. All our plans from the last four-five weeks is what we want to take ahead. Bowling on the top of off isn't important, it is all about taking ten wickets. We know that we want to give some new life to Test cricket. The support we received has been fantastic in the short time that we've been around. Inspiring the next generation is what we want to do. We want to bring in new fans and want to leave a mark on Test cricket," Stokes added.

England needed nearly 20 overs to chase down the remaining 119 runs on the final day. While the visitors were expected to put up a fight, Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow gave them no chance whatsoever by taking the Indian bowlers to the cleaners. The in-form pair smashed a century apiece to stitch an unbeaten 269-run stand for the fourth wicket to script a memorable win for the hosts.