Undeterred by Virat Kohli’s sledging, Jonny Bairstow went on to score a sensational hundred on Day 3 to keep the hosts alive in the contest.
Virat Kohli and Jonny Bairstow were involved in a heated argument on Day 3 of Edgbaston Test. Image: Screenshot
Jonny Bairstow has played down the verbal argument he had with former India captain Virat Kohli at the start of Day 3 in the Edgbaston Test. Kohli was seen passing comments on Bairstow’s batting as the Englishmen struggled early on against Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami followed by a verbal duel that ended with Kohli asking Bairstow to “Shutup, Just stand and bat”.
Undeterred from the sledging, Bairstow went on to score a sensational hundred to keep the hosts alive in the contest.
Bairstow was asked about the incident after the end of the day’s play and the England batter played it down by saying it’s “part and parcel of the game”.
“We’ve played against each other for a solid 10 years now, so it’s a bit of craic,” he said to Sky Sports. “We’re fiercely competitive on the field and that’s what it’s about.
“We’re playing Test cricket, we’re two competitors, that’s why we play the game and that’s what brings the best out of us. You want to be out there, you want to do your best and you want to win. Whatever it takes, you want to get your team over the line. That’s part and parcel of the game.”
Bairstow also reflected on his century and the run-spree.
“Yeah pretty pleased obviously, it’s been a good few weeks…”This morning they bowled well, and it was a choice to try and shift it back to them. I’m just thinking ‘ball’, that’s exactly what it is. It’s just taking the simplicity of it, and flipping everything back to remain as free as you can. Hopefully, that can continue for a little while,” he said.
India currently lead by 257 runs and have seven wickets remaining in the second innings. Bairstow said England would be going for the kill despite being behind India in the Test.
“Absolutely it’s going to be tough. We’re well aware of that,” he said. “We’d liked to have scored a few more to get a little bit closer to them. But at the same time, from the position we were in, we didn’t do too bad to get where we are. If we nick a couple of them in the morning, and Stokes mentioned it at the toss, we’ll have a chase and that’s exactly what we’ll be trying to do. We won’t be shutting up shop, that’s for sure.”
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