Brendon McCullum says his England side are about much more than aggressive cricket, labelling the term 'Bazball' "silly" as he responded to Steve Smith's comments about the team's revival.

England have looked reinvigorated since McCullum and Ben Stokes took over as red-ball coach and captain respectively.

They have posted three of their highest-ever run chases in their last three Tests after a remarkable victory over India at Edgbaston.

Having whitewashed world champions New Zealand 3-0, England completed a 378-run chase against India on Tuesday, drawing the teams' delayed series and sparking new levels of excitement among fans.

'Bazball' – the term coined to describe England's aggressive style under the New Zealander – has won near-universal praise, but the coach himself says it does not do justice to their displays.

"I don't really like that silly term that people are throwing out there," he told Australian radio station SEN. 

"Because there's actually quite a bit of thought that goes into how the guys manufacture their performances and when they put pressure on bowlers and which bowlers they put pressure on. 

"There's also times where they've absorbed pressure beautifully as well."

Former Australia skipper Steve Smith is among those yet to be convinced by England's style, recently declaring to the Sydney Morning Herald: "I'm just intrigued to see how long it lasts, if it's sustainable."

Australia's 4-0 Ashes humiliation of England in December and January irreversibly damaged Joe Root's captaincy, with the next edition of the teams' Test rivalry set for 2023.

McCullum insisted Smith was right to question England, adding Australia would provide the biggest challenge of his tenure but stressing his immediate focus was on the three-part series with South Africa, set to begin on August 17 at Lord's.

"I saw those [comments] flick up on one of the feeds somewhere," McCullum added. "It's quite right, it is going to be a big challenge when we take on Australia.

"It's going to challenge our method, and it's going to challenge what we're capable of achieving and that's pretty exciting I reckon.

"Isn't that what the game's all about? To sort of reinvigorate yourself and then be confronted against the very best.

"I do believe that both New Zealand and India are two very, very good cricket sides as well. Australia is a different kind of challenge because of the history of the Ashes and the rivalry which exists there.

"We know that's probably the ultimate challenge for us. We'll have to deal with that in time, I guess. In this job you plan as if you'll live forever and live as if you'll die tomorrow.

"You want to make sure you enjoy the ride. I keep preaching to the boys about being where your feet are and to try to immerse yourself in the here and now.

"You take your eye off anything, and teams will be able to make sure you look a bit silly. Our focus will be on South Africa for now but at some point in time, that will be a series which we [focus on].

"Test cricket needs the Ashes to be strong and competitive. You'd say the last one wasn't so that's the task for us in time."

Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne brought up centuries – the former ending a 16-month Test drought – as Australia made a terrific start to the second Test in Sri Lanka on Friday.

Smith (109 not out) reached his first Test hundred since scoring 131 against India in January 2021 shortly before stumps on day one, after Labuschagne (104) had driven Australia into a strong position against the COVID-19-impacted hosts.

Three late wickets from debutant Prabath Jayasuriya (3-90) only partially stemmed the tourists' momentum, with Sri Lanka – who have lost three players to COVID-19 since a crushing first Test defeat - toiling as Australia reached 298-5.

Looking to win four successive Tests against Sri Lanka for the first time since 2004, Australia were led to a solid start by the in-form Usman Khawaja.

Having averaged 117 in 2022 ahead of this contest, Khawaja helped the tourists recover from the early loss of David Warner (5) before being felled by a beauty from Ramesh Mendis shortly before lunch for 37..

Labuschagne took centre stage thereafter, going from strength to strength after Niroshan Dickwella missed the chance to stump him for 28 as he racked up his first away Test hundred.

The 28-year-old's innings represented his seventh Test ton and saw him dovetail brilliantly with Smith – the duo recording their seventh century partnership in just 21 innings - before Dickwella took his second opportunity to stump Labuschagne in the 59th over, after Australia had reached 204-2.

Sri Lanka stepped things up after tea as Jayasuriya added the wickets of Travis Head (12) and Cameron Green (4), but Smith evaded the attack before bringing up his ton with a fine four and will be back at the crease on Saturday.

Labuschagne and Smith drive Aussies forward

Only Joe Root (14) has more Test centuries than Labuschagne since his October 2018 debut after his terrific knock silenced the home crowd.

But if that was good, Australia saved the best until last with Smith's long awaited hundred.

His 28th Test ton was his first in 16 innings and just his second in the red-ball game since the 2019 Ashes, and the former skipper will be hopeful of adding to his tally and taking the tourists beyond 400 after surviving the hosts' late rally.

Out-of-sorts Sri Lanka struggle again 

With bowlers Asitha Fernando and Jeffrey Vandersay among those sidelined after testing positive for COVID-19, Sri Lanka struggled to make headway on a difficult first day.

Having lost three of their five Tests in 2022, Sri Lanka look hard-pushed to stop the tourists after Labuschagne and Smith's day-one heroics. 

Ben Stokes has condemned the alleged incidents of racist abuse that took place in the crowd during England's Test win over India at Edgbaston, saying there is "absolutely no place" for discriminatory behaviour in cricket.

England completed the best run chase in their history (378) on Tuesday to defeat India in a thrilling fourth Test in Birmingham, drawing the delayed series after Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow hit second-innings centuries in a remarkable seven-wicket win.

But the triumph was overshadowed by reports of racism being aimed at India fans in the ground on day four, with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Edgbaston subsequently launching investigations.

The claims were shared on social media by Azeem Rafiq, the former spin bowler who was at the centre of a racism scandal at Yorkshire. He made allegations of institutional racism, and an independent report upheld that he had been a victim of "racial harassment and bullying".

After close of play on Monday, the ECB said it was "very concerned" by the claims in a short statement, and skipper Stokes has now taken to social media to decry the reported abuse.  

"Amazing week on the pitch but really disappointed to hear reports of racist abuse at Edgbaston," he tweeted.

"Absolutely no place for it in the game. 

"Hope all the fans at the white-ball series have a brilliant time and create a party atmosphere. That's what cricket's about!"

England and India get their three-part T20 series underway at the Rose Bowl on Thursday, in the white-ball side's first outing of Jos Buttler's captaincy.

Ben Stokes intends to "create a legacy" with his new approach to Test cricket, and the captain of England's entertainers was further inspired by facing India's Rishabh Pant.

Since Stokes was named captain and Brendon McCullum head coach, England have won four consecutive Tests in thrilling fashion.

Across a 3-0 series whitewash of New Zealand and the delayed fifth Test against India, in which they secured a series draw, England chased down scores of more than 275 runs in every match.

Stokes' side were ultimately dominant against India, winning by seven wickets despite requiring 378 in the fourth innings – the highest target they have ever successfully pursued.

An unbroken partnership of 269 between Joe Root (142 not out) and Jonny Bairstow (114 no) completed the job, with the pair scaling new heights.

Root now has 11 Test centuries since the start of 2021 and continues to improve, "which I thought was impossible", Stokes said, referring to his former skipper as "a freak".

But the exciting 'Bazball' tactics of the past month have not been restricted to just those two players, with Stokes confirming Stuart Broad had been padded up on day four to go in as a "nighthawk", rather than a nightwatchman.

His aim? "Thirty off 10 or nought off one."

And Stokes also saw evidence of the future of Test cricket in the India batting line-up, as Pant scored 146 off 111 in the first innings. His wicket, the England captain said, was every bit as key as the Root-Bairstow partnership.

"He is someone who would fit very well in our team at the moment, Rishabh, the way that he goes about to play the game," Stokes said.

"That wicket was huge for us because we know what he can do. We know how he likes to play the game, and he could really have taken it away from us in real quick time."

Later, discussing the "legacy" he and McCullum hope to forge, Stokes again turned his focus to Pant's performance.

"Rishabh Pant's innings for India in the first innings was obviously against us, but I absolutely loved watching it," he said. "Being on the receiving end of something like that is just is incredible to watch.

"And it's great to see now that someone like Rishabh, who's obviously received his criticism over the years, is now getting applauded for that.

"The more we see players like that succeed in the way that they want to do, I think the negativity around that type of way of Test cricket will eventually die out, because it's so exciting to watch.

"Cricket is an entertainment business at the end of the day. Yes, you want results and stuff like that, but you want people to enjoy watching a spectacle.

"Test cricket has always been a spectacle, but it's about doing it differently now. So cheers, Rishabh."

Ben Stokes believes no other Test side can match England's bravery after the hosts completed a record 378-run chase to beat India in a remarkable Test match at Edgbaston.

Despite being reduced to 109-3 at one point on day four, England recovered to better their terrific exploits during the recent series whitewash of world Test champions New Zealand.

The hosts surpassed their previous best chase (362-9) against Australia in 2019, sealing the victory on Tuesday.

That means England have secured three of the 10 highest chases in their history in their last three Test matches, with the Ben Stokes-Brendon McCullum regime having reinvigorated the country's red-ball side.

Speaking to BBC Sport after the win - which saw the delayed series drawn at 2-2 - skipper Stokes declared that while other sides may match England for talent, none could replicate their courage.

"It is amazing," he said after a fourth straight Test match win. 

"The change, you're talking about mindset and everything like that - when you've got real clarity in what you want to achieve as a team and how you want to play, it makes things a lot easier. 

"We know what we were going to do - we knew we were always going to go out and try and chase that down from the get-go. 

"A great way to explain is that teams are perhaps better than us, but teams won't be braver than us." 

Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow both brought up centuries to get England over the line in speedy fashion on day five, with the latter becoming the first batsman to score six or more centuries in a single calendar year in Tests when batting at five or below.

And Stokes heaped praise on the Yorkshire-born duo for their stunning performances, comparing Bairstow's recent displays to his limited overs showings.

"As people from Yorkshire say, 'strong Yorkshire, strong England'. It couldn't be more true right now. These two are just phenomenal," Stokes added.

"Rooty has been doing it for 10 years and Jonny has just honestly been ridiculous over the last five or six weeks. 

"He has got runs but it is the way that he has done it - it's exactly what we talk about. He has embraced it and just gone out and there and done it. It is like watching him play white-ball cricket at the moment."

Having also become just the third England player to hit a century in both innings of a Test against India (after Graham Gooch and Andrew Strauss), Bairstow explained the players were simply enjoying an exhilarating brand of cricket.

"It is awesome, it is a great environment at the moment," Bairstow said. "It is fantastic, the way we're playing, and everyone is really enjoying the success and that is a huge part of it.

"If Joe and I are out there doing it together, we're in a really good place. We've been doing it for a long time together now.

"It is really special to knock off 378 with just three down. It is something that we'll never forget. After day two I got asked, 'what do you think is too many', and I said 'whatever they set we'll go for'.

"That's exactly what we did. The opening partnership deserves a huge amount of credit, for the way they went about it and the brand of cricket that we're trying to play, it was epitomised by that opening stand. 

"It isn't going to work every time, but the pressure and intensity which they put on world-class bowling takes a huge amount of guts, courage and skill."

Joe Root hailed England's "incredible" display with the bat after he and Jonny Bairstow starred in a historic 378-run chase against India, declaring: "Whatever they get, we'll chase it."

Having resumed at 259-3 before a lively Edgbaston crowd on Tuesday, England raced to their most impressive victory yet under the Ben Stokes-Brendon McCullum regime, with Root and Bairstow hitting centuries to complete the highest run chase in the hosts' history and claim a 2-2 draw in the delayed series.

The victory saw England surpass their 359-run chase against Australia in August 2019, as Root made his 28th Test ton in finishing 142 not out.

He and Bairstow registered the highest fourth-wicket partnership in the fourth innings of a men's Test (269), as well as England's fifth-highest fourth-wicket stand in any innings.

Bairstow, meanwhile, also became just the ninth player to hit four Test centuries in England in a calendar year as the home side's entertainers continued their red-ball revival.

England also recorded three successive chases of over 250 runs in their series whitewash of world champions New Zealand last time out, and Root says the team's fearlessness with the bat left them feeling in control throughout day five.

"It was pretty fun doing it. Throughout the whole summer, from that first game, we've said, 'whatever they get, we'll chase it'," Root told Sky Sports. "Ben said to us before the toss: 'We're not going to bat first, we're going to chase.'

"That's the mentality of how we're going about things at the minute. Once we got that partnership going, we just felt in full control.

"So much credit has to go to the two lads at the top [Alex Lees and Zak Crawley], the way they set the platform, the way they shifted the pressure straight back onto India.

"To smash that new ball around on a wicket that was doing a bit was just incredible batting. It really made the work that we had to do afterwards a lot easier. It really was a sublime partnership against a world-class attack.

"The feeling in the dressing room at the moment is 'whatever you get, we're going for it, and we're going to take it down'."

On a personal level, Root added he was enjoying his cricket again after stepping down as captain in April, saying successor Stokes has instilled a newfound ruthlessness in the side.

"When you're enjoying things it makes it a lot easier, you turn up to practice excited, you get out in the middle, and you're up for the contest," Root added.

"I feel in a really good place and I just need to make sure I maintain that. One thing that's worked for me is just accepting it's a game of failure, batting, and you're not going to get it right every time.

"It was good fun, like I said, there was a little bit on offer, but when you're putting pressure on bowlers it's very difficult for them to keep coming hard at you.

"We recognised crucial parts of pressure, I think we soaked it up well at times in the second innings, and then when we got our chances to put it back on them, we did it.

"We were ruthless with it, something that we might have lacked a bit in recent times – especially under my leadership!"

Centuries from Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow carried England to a historic seven-wicket win over India, completing their record-breaking 378-run chase in the first session of day five.

After successful fourth-innings pursuits of 277, 299 and 296 in the whitewash of New Zealand, England required their highest such recovery in Tests to take this rearranged fifth match against India.

But Root (142 not out) and Bairstow (114 no) had done much of the heavy lifting late on Monday at Edgbaston, allowing the home side's imperious duo to charge through Tuesday morning and improve their unbeaten partnership to an outstanding 269.

The successful chase meant England claimed a draw from the delayed 2021 series and won a fourth consecutive Test match since the new Ben Stokes-Brendon McCullum regime took charge of the team.

A night's sleep appeared to have done little to rejuvenate India, who continued the previous evening's themes of rash bowling, poor field placement and regular appeals for a change of ball.

One of those early appeals was successful, but England bludgeoned on regardless, even aided by four leg byes in consecutive Mohammed Shami overs.

A flurry of Root fours brought up his hundred, reaching three figures with a stab at a Mohammed Siraj delivery that skipped over second slip to the boundary.

Root initially maintained control of the strike and the scoring, making Bairstow wait until the 18th over of the day for his century. A single did the job, with Root making his ground in time before a direct hit to celebrate with his team-mate.

And another single, this time from Root, concluded a chase that ultimately became a saunter, cementing England's ability to seemingly match any target with the bat in this thrilling new era.

Bairstow matches Root record – with time for both to break it

'Bazball' has been the making of Bairstow, who now has four centuries in his past five innings – the other an unbeaten 71. That means half of Bairstow's 12 Test hundreds have come in 2022 alone.

That ties the record for the most England Test tons in a calendar year, with Root having matched the six-century achievements of Denis Compton and Michael Vaughan just last year.

With three Tests to come against South Africa next month and more against Pakistan later in the year, Bairstow is well placed to move past six – as is Root, who has five this year.

Allegations of racism being directed towards India fans during the fifth Test against England are being investigated by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Edgbaston.

India and England played out a thrilling fourth day in Birmingham on Monday, with the hosts 259-3 at stumps in pursuit of a record target of 378.

But Twitter posts following the day's play reported abuse within the stands at Edgbaston.

The claims were shared on the social media site by Azeem Rafiq, the former spin bowler who was at the centre of a racism scandal at Yorkshire, where he alleged institutional racism and an independent report upheld that he had been victim of "racial harassment and bullying".

"Disappointing to read," Rafiq wrote, to which Edgbaston's Twitter page replied: "We're incredible sorry to read this and do not condone this behaviour in anyway. We'll be investigating this ASAP."

The ECB published a short statement on its page, which read: "We are very concerned to hear reports of racist abuse at today's Test match.

"We are in contact with colleagues at Edgbaston who will investigate. There is no place for racism in cricket."

Play resumes in Birmingham on Tuesday morning, with a capacity crowd anticipated after tickets for a dramatic final day were given away for free.

England need 119 runs to win the rearranged fifth Test and secure a drawn series with India after a superb day four put them in position to pull off a record chase.

Delayed by a year after a COVID-19 outbreak in the India camp forced a Test originally scheduled for Old Trafford to be cancelled, a fascinating conclusion is in store at Edgbaston.

The hosts will have confidence of chasing down 378 after reaching stumps on 259-3 with the two men who hit the winning runs as England clinched a 3-0 win over New Zealand last week - Joe Root (76 not out) and Jonny Bairstow (72no) continuing their outstanding form.

India, who have dominated much of this match, were earlier dismissed for 245, and a seemingly ominous target that would break England's previous record chase of 362 against Australia in 2019.

Stokes (4-33) polished off the India tail with the final three wickets. Prior to that, Matthew Potts (2-50) did much of the hard work in reducing the tourists - who were 125-3 at the start of play - from what had looked like a commanding position at 153-3, with smart hands from Root allowing Jack Leach to remove the dangerous Rishabh Pant (57).

Despite getting little from their lower order, India may have felt comfortable defending such a lofty target. Any such feeling was quickly dispelled as Alex Lees and Zak Crawley belied their struggles opening the batting by reaching 100 inside 20 overs.

Crawley was denied his 50 as he left a Jasprit Bumrah delivery that clipped off stump and when the bowler removed Ollie Pope for a duck and Lees was run out after tea, India looked to be turning the tide.

But as they did consistently against New Zealand, Root and Bairstow wrested the momentum in aggressive fashion, both once again displaying the fluency and timing that has turned England's Test fortunes around and could now rescue this series.

Anderson achieves another milestone

Jimmy Anderson was not overly involved in limiting India's second-innings lead in a wicket-taking capacity, but his catch at midwicket to dismiss Shreyas Iyer saw him join a select group as he claimed his 100th catch.

Indeed, he became the sixth player in Tests to register 1000 runs, 100 wickets and 100 catches. Also on that list are Garfield Sobers, Ian Botham, Carl Hooper, Shane Warne and Jacques Kallis.

Lees and Crawley lay platform

Lees' half-century came in just 44 balls, making it the fourth-fastest by an England opener. His stand of 107 with Crawley was England's sixth fourth-innings opening partnership of 100 or more this century. It was also the highest such England partnership at Edgbaston.

After a Bumrah-inspired blip, Root and Bairstow took advantage of that platform, putting on 150 in 197 balls. Bairstow's lone six was England's 58th of 2022, putting them seven shy of their record total of 65 from 2005 with a three-Test series with South Africa and a tour of Pakistan still to come.

India recovered from Jonny Bairstow clinching yet another century to finish an eventful third day of the fourth Test against England with a healthy 257-run lead.

Bairstow led a fine England counter in a thrilling morning session, bringing up his third century in as many Tests as the hosts looked to make up for a poor start to their first innings.

But after Bairstow's team-mates toiled in being bowled out for 284, India recovered from the early loss of Shubman Gill to reach 125-3 by close of play, leaving the hosts with it all to do on day four. 

The hosts enjoyed some good fortune upon resuming, with skipper Ben Stokes (25-36) being dropped in inexplicable fashion by Jasprit Bumrah before gifting the visiting captain a catch with an identical shot off the very next ball.

As has often been the case since Brendon McCullum took charge, England were left to rely on the brilliant Bairstow, who dragged them into contention by bringing up his century – the 11th of his Test career - off 119 balls shortly after lunch.

But their momentum dissipated when Mohammed Shami had him caught for 106 off 140 to reduce England to 241-7, before Mohammed Siraj dismissed Stuart Broad (1-5) in the very next over and finished the innings 4-66 after accounting for Sam Billings (36-57) and Matthew Potts (19-18).

Needing a fast start to have any hope of teeing up another successful chase, England were boosted when James Anderson had Gill (4-3) caught at slip, his fourth Test dismissal of the India opener.

Broad and Stokes then claimed a wicket apiece as Hanuma Vihari (11-44) and the out-of-form Virat Kohli (20-44) were felled, before Cheteshwar Pujara bought up a slow half-century off 139 balls. 

He and Rishabh Pant (30 not out) were then content to see the day out in quiet fashion, with England now requiring wickets to fall quickly on Monday.

Brilliant Bairstow drags England into contention

The pressure was on when England resumed on Sunday, and Bairstow – so often the key man in the early days of McCullum's red-ball revolution, stepped up after a bout of sledging from Kohli.

In recording his first century against India in Test cricket, Bairstow went from 13 off 61 balls to 100 off 119, going up through the gears in rapid fashion when England needed him most.

Siraj halts hosts' progress

With England having recovered from 84-5 to 241-7 by Bairstow's dismissal, India could have been forgiven for thinking back to the way McCullum's men conducted three successful chases of over 250 against New Zealand in their recent series whitewash.

But Siraj stepped up to claim a four-wicket haul as India held off their hosts, leaving England requiring something special to level the series at 2-2.

England might need another act of Jonny Bairstow heroism to dig them out of a deep hole at Edgbaston after India made the home side suffer on a rain-hit second day of the fifth Test.

In a wild morning session, India went from 338-7 to 416 all out, Ravindra Jadeja completing a century by moving from 83 to 104 before being bowled by James Anderson.

India scored a world-record 35 runs from one Stuart Broad over as captain Jasprit Bumrah took centre stage with the bat. Bumrah is better known for his work with the ball, and the skipper then reduced England to 44-3 when he sent back Alex Lees, Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope.

After a two-hour rain break, the third such interruption of the innings, England lost former skipper Joe Root for 31, and nightwatchman Jack Leach followed, with Bairstow (12 not out) and captain Ben Stokes (0 no) together at the close. England were 84-5 at stumps, nowhere near where they hoped to be in the contest.

India are 2-1 ahead in this series, one that began last year but had to be curtailed before the fifth Test got under way due to COVID-19 concerns in the tourists' ranks. This long-delayed match is therefore decisive, with England needing a victory to force a drawn series.

Rather than go after the win, avoiding a heavy defeat could become the priority, but at this stage the hosts will still believe they can salvage this situation, given positivity is flowing through the team after the recent 3-0 rout of New Zealand.

Broad had a rotten morning, entering the record books in unwanted fashion when Bumrah set about his bowling. The previous Test record of 28 runs from an over was obliterated, aided by Broad bowling a high wide that raced to the boundary before being clubbed for six off a no-ball.

Bumrah finished on 31 not out when Broad held a catch off James Anderson (5-60) to remove Mohammed Siraj in the next over.

Three rain delays affected England's reply, but the batting was not up to scratch. The most damaging dismissal was surely that of Root to a snorter of a delivery that climbed rapidly into the batsman, drawing a thin edge to wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant. Now Bairstow, whose past three Test scores have been 136, 162 and 71 not out, will aim to lead a recovery effort alongside the skipper.

Anderson at it again

It still defies belief that England's previous regime looked ready to discard Anderson. He might turn 40 later this month, but few seamers in world cricket can rival his skill, and India again found him so difficult to play. A 32nd five-wicket haul of his Test career was his sixth against India.

England have done it before, so can they do it again?

England hardly need to look far back in the history books for inspiration. In the third Test against New Zealand, they were 55-6 in their first innings but rallied to post 360 all out. The seventh-wicket stand of 241 runs between Bairstow and Jamie Overton saved the day that time, and something special is required again here.

England paceman Stuart Broad was put to the sword by Jasprit Bumrah as India set a Test record for the most runs scored in an over.

The previous record of 28 runs was obliterated as India grabbed 35 from Broad's shocking set of six, with Bumrah doing most of the damage.

The rout began with a top-edged hook to the boundary for four, before Broad's over descended into chaos as a high wide scurried off to the boundary to give India five free runs, and the next ball, a no-ball, was flung away for six.

Bumrah lashed each of the next three deliveries for four as India reached 28 from the first four permissible deliveries, before the India captain clattered Broad away for a second six of the over.

India had 34 with one ball remaining, and this time Broad sent down a yorker, with Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj scrambling a single.

The onslaught took India from 377-9 to 412-9 on the second morning of the match, with the tourists adding just four more in the next over before James Anderson had Siraj caught by the fed-up Broad.

This fifth Test at Edgbaston is a long-delayed series decider, having been postponed from last September, when it was due to be played at Old Trafford, due to COVID-19 concerns in the India camp.

Anderson and England colleague Joe Root were two of the three players who had previously conceded 28 runs from a Test over, to share the unwanted record with South Africa Robin Peterson.

Rishabh Pant's inspired counter-attack ensured India ended day one of the final Test against England at Edgbaston still firmly in the match.

England came into the rearranged final encounter of last year's series on a high following the whitewash of New Zealand and soon reduced India to 98-5, before Pant (146 off 111) and Ravindra Jadeja (83 not out) led the fightback.

Their partnership of 222 – in which Pant did the heavy lifting with a barrage of boundaries and the fastest Test century by an India wicketkeeper – helped carry the tourists to 338-7 by stumps.

Ben Stokes had unsurprisingly put India in to bat, potentially pursuing a fourth successive successful fourth-innings chase.

The England captain first needed his bowlers to deliver, and James Anderson (3-52) did exactly that in the morning session in tempting edges from Shubman Gill (17) and Cheteshwar Pujara (13) – Zak Crawley taking each catch either side of putting down a chance from Hanuma Vihari off the bowling of Matthew Potts.

Rain interrupted play – bringing an early lunch – but not England's momentum, as Potts (2-85) pinned Vihari (20) and then bamboozled Virat Kohli (11), who pulled his bat away too late and saw the ball run off the face into his stumps.

Anderson's third wicket from Shreyas Iyer (15) owed a great deal to a superb Sam Billings catch, yet Pant's big hitting turned the tide – helped by some increasingly untidy work from England.

Pant eventually departed to Joe Root, nicking to Crawley in attempting another blast to pass 150, but the hosts still have work to do with the ball before they will again be asked to score well with the bat in a continuation of this entertaining new era under Stokes.

New foe for Kohli

Many have pondered the possibility this is the last time Anderson and Kohli come face to face in a Test match, given the England great turns 40 later this month. No bowler has claimed more Kohli wickets in Tests than Anderson (seven).

But this time it was the turn of the new man. Potts had stunning figures of 3-3 bowling to Kane Williamson in the New Zealand series and quickly added another huge scalp, with Kohli now averaging an underwhelming 28.63 for this delayed series.

Pant profits

Despite India's 2-1 lead as they bid to win a Test series in England for the first time since 2007, Kohli was not alone in struggling slightly with the bat last year. Pant's series average entering this match was 20.86, with a high score of 50.

But suspicions England's aggressive approach could soon meet their match were affirmed by his ability to find the boundary time and again, avoiding the sort of errors on which Stokes' attack might have preyed. Pant had 23 boundaries in this innings, surpassing his 15 in the previous four matches between the sides combined.

Jos Buttler has plenty on his plate in his new role as England's limited-overs captain, meaning he has no plans to play Test cricket right now – whether opening the batting or otherwise.

Buttler has been appointed England's white-ball skipper following the retirement of long-term leader Eoin Morgan.

The superstar wicketkeeper-batsman was an obvious choice, having been a key performer under Morgan for several years.

Buttler's role in the Test set-up is less established, and the red-ball side are enjoying their own new era under the captain-coach combination of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum.

Big-hitting Buttler prides himself on being "positive and aggressive", as he told BBC Test Match Special on Friday. Those are qualities that would clearly work in Stokes' side, whose tactics Buttler described as "very similar" to the limited-overs approach of "taking the shackles off".

Debate around a Test return was perhaps inevitable then, but Kumar Sangakkara, Buttler's IPL coach with Rajasthan Royals, suggested he should be a candidate to bat at the top of the order, where England have had some difficulties.

Buttler was amused and bemused by the idea, saying with a smile: "I thought someone had written the wrong story, to be honest. I don't think there is much merit in that.

"Was it from Kumar? Maybe he was just plugging some Rajasthan Royals openers or something like that.

"It's been fantastic to watch the Test team over the last few weeks – I've thoroughly enjoyed tuning in as a fan; it's been incredible to watch.

"You're gripped to your seat to see what they're doing, and it's been brilliant. I've loved watching them, and I hope it continues."

Asked if he had a red ball in his bag, Buttler replied: "Not at the minute, no."

But while the white-ball skipper is happy to maintain a watching brief in Test cricket, he is keen to have the red-ball captain in his teams.

Stokes was named in England's ODI squad for the series against India, although he will not be involved in the Twenty20 international matches that follow a Test that started on Friday.

"I'm really keen for Ben to be involved in T20 cricket," Buttler said. "As with everyone, we're going to have to be careful with how we manage people's workloads.

"Ben's going to be incredibly busy. The first T20 starts after this game [the Test against India] is due to end. It's important we look after players.

"But in any format of the game, Ben is someone you want in your team."

Uncapped Lancashire seamer Richard Gleeson is the new face in Jos Buttler's first white-ball squads as England captain for the upcoming ODI and T20I series against India.

Bowler Gleeson joins his domestic team-mate in his first selection since succeeding the retiring Eoin Morgan as skipper last month.

The 34-year-old has taken 70 wickets in 64 domestic T20 matches and posted career-best figures of 5-33 against Worcestershire Rapids in this season's T20 Blast.

Elsewhere, there are a mix of familiar names for Buttler and coach Matthew Mott, although Yorkshire bowler Adil Rashid is absent after the ECB gave him permission to make The Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.

Harry Brook is named in both squads, seemingly the beneficiary of Morgan's retirement.

Brook was an unused member of Ben Stokes' first Test squad, with the red-ball team's own new era getting off to a roaring start with a series whitewash against New Zealand.

Star Test batsmen Stokes, Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow were all named to Buttler's ODI group.

But there is no room for David Payne and Luke Wood, who made the ODI trip to the Netherlands last month, while Dawid Malan only makes the 20-over team.

Tom Banton, James Vince, George Garton and Sam Billings miss out from the T20I squad that toured the West Indies in January.

England T20I squad : Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), Harry Brook (Yorkshire), Sam Curran (Surrey), Richard Gleeson (Lancashire), Chris Jordan (Surrey), Liam Livingstone (Lancashire), Dawid Malan (Yorkshire), Tymal Mills (Sussex), Matthew Parkinson (Lancashire), Jason Roy (Surrey), Phil Salt (Lancashire), Reece Topley (Surrey), David Willey (Yorkshire).

England ODI squad : Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire), Harry Brook (Yorkshire), Brydon Carse (Durham), Sam Curran (Surrey), Liam Livingstone (Lancashire), Craig Overton (Somerset), Matthew Parkinson (Lancashire), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Jason Roy (Surrey), Phil Salt (Lancashire), Ben Stokes (Durham), Reece Topley (Surrey), David Willey (Yorkshire).