Under the fresh leadership of captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum, England scripted a historic win when they successfully chased down the massive 378-run target against India in the rescheduled fifth Test at Edgbaston in Birmingham. The hosts exhibited an attacking brand of cricket and completed the task on the final day, with former skipper Joe Root and explosive batter Jonny Bairstow smashing unbeaten centuries to help England level the series 2-2.
Notably, the one-off Test match was part of the five-match series that was halted due to COVID-19 in 2021. The tourists left England after the 4th Test due to COVID-19 cases in their camp. Though India ended up losing the fifth Test, it was still a big achievement as they didn’t lose the series.
In the previous tours of England, the Indian team had struggled badly. In 2011, the MS Dhoni-led side was whitewashed in the four-match series. Then, in 2014, England defeated India by 3-1 under the captaincy of Alastair Cook. In 2018, Joe Root’s England overpowered Virat Kohli-led India 4-1.
England supporters were indeed happy as their team managed to save the series. The last time England lost the home Test leg against India was back in 2007 when Rahul Dravid was the captain of the Indian team. No wonder both English players and their fans were rejoicing after the victory in the Edgbaston Test.
However, while celebrating the win, Barmy Army – the England cricket team’s supporter’s club – took to Twitter to post the false series result. Barmy Army claimed that the Three Lions have won the series 1-0.
The tweet of Barmy Army didn’t go down well as several fans lambasted them for going a bit too far while making a joke. Even former India spinner Amit Mishra looked unhappy as he blasted Barmy Army for posting a false result. Mishra wrote: “Haash! British and their habit of distorting history for their own advantage.”
Haash! British and their habit of distorting history for their own advantage. https://t.co/OIfSKWctXJ
— Amit Mishra (@MishiAmit) July 5, 2022