England off to flying start in record chase

England rode Alex Lees's fifty to cruise to 136-3 in pursuit of a record chase on day four of the rearranged fifth Test against India at Edgbaston on Monday.

India were all out for 245 half an hour into the day's second session, setting England a victory target of 378.

Lees (56) combined with Zak Crawley (46) to give the hosts a rollicking start before Jasprit Bumrah ended the century partnership just before the Tea break.

Ollie Pope was yet to open his account at the other end.

Lees and Crawley championed the attacking brand of cricket which is becoming the hallmark of the England test team since Brendon McCullum took over as the head coach and Ben Stokes assumed the captaincy.

They reached the 100-mark inside 20 overs with Lees racing to a 44-ball fifty.

Crawley missed out on a half-century after deciding to leave a Bumrah delivery which jagged back to hit the top of his off-stump.

England's highest successful run chase came in 2019 when they reached a 359-run target in an Ashes Test against Australia on the back of Stokes's brilliant unbeaten century.