The fifth Test between India and England, starting Thursday at the picturesque Himachal town of Dharamsala, will mark a century of Test appearances from either side -- with Ashwin becoming the 14th Indian and Jonny Bairstow, the 17th Englishman to don 100 Test caps.
While Bairstow has managed only 102 runs in six innings, Root’s bat has produced a mere 77 runs from the three Tests so far, begging questions on the duo’s place in the side for the fourth Test.
Importantly, though, it was only England's third defeat of the Bazball regime, which meant that you couldn’t really dip your pain in acid and write disdainfully of Brendon McCullum, the coach who preaches hyper-aggressive Test cricket or Ben Stokes, the captain who made himself conspicuous with his rash first-day declaration.
Root's unbeaten 118 not out, his 30th century in Test cricket, was the stand-out contribution on a surface that offered little for the bowlers
We'll move on to the next test match, and go out there and try to win," the all-rounder added.
The successful chase of 378 is also the highest they have chased ever in Test cricket.
On a day on which rain chose not to interrupt play, England made merry as Root and Bairstow went back to the dressing room after making 76 off 110 balls and 73 off 89 deliveries respectively.
With this victory, England overtook New Zealand in the World Test Championships (WTC) standings, with a win percentage of 28.89. New Zealand now occupy the penultimate spot on the table, just above Bangladesh, with a win percentage of 25.93.
Root's unbeaten innings brought him to his 27th Test century. According to the ICC, the 31-year-old has 10 World Test Championship tonnes and nearly 1,000 more WTC runs than his closest challenger, Australia's Marnus Labuschagne (2,180 runs).
Former England footballer and current sports broadcaster Gary Linekar, and noted journalist-writer Piers Morgan have been left wondering how a bat could stand upright unaided, with the former indicating that Root could conjure up magic while at the crease.
