Jonny Bairstow jokes about his spat with Virat Kohli on day 3
The fifth rescheduled Test between India and England is moving rapidly, and the third day of the Edgbaston Test saw several intriguing passages of play. One of the highlights of the day was a struggling Jonny Bairstow’s altercation with Virat Kohli. The English batter has opened up on the incident and said there is no needle between the two players and it was just the passion to do well for their respective countries.
The Indian bowlers were on top of the proceedings earlier in the morning and Bairstow was in all sorts of trouble, especially against the probing Mohammed Shami. The pressure from the bowlers was relentless, and Virat Kohli, who was stationed at slips, was constantly chipping away at the Englishmen. But the former Indian skipper was unhappy with the words of Bairstow and gestured him to shut his mouth and focus on his batting.
The two onfield umpires, Aleem Dar and Richard Kettleborough intervened to calm things down between the players. The elegant Indian batter had a cheeky exchange with Ben Stokes and the Yorkshireman afterward. The exchange with Kohli fired up the English batter as he massacred the Indian bowlers to his fourth century in as many games. After the game, he talked to the media and spoke about his exchange with the Indian player.
“As I mentioned earlier, there was nothing. We’ve been fortunate to play against each other for ten years. So, I’m pretty sure we’ll be able to have dinner. Don’t worry about it,” Bairstow said after stumps on day 3.
You’ve got 11 guys on each side that are very passionate to do so well for their country: Jonny Bairstow
The England skipper lived a charmed life at the crease and was eventually dismissed for 25, thanks to a breathtaking effort from Jasprit Bumrah. Although the Indian pacers made the ball talk, Bairstow kept playing his shots. The wicketkeeper-batter took a liking to the medium pace of Shardul Thakur and was quite severe on him. Shortly after registering a 119-ball century, the Yorkshireman fell for 106 as England were bundled out for 284. The explosive batter credited the Indian team and relished the opportunity of playing against such a fantastic team.
“You’ve got 11 guys on each side that are very passionate to do so well for their country. And yeah, look, it’s passion, it’s what you play for. So, I hope that clears it up but, look, it was great crack out there, and to be playing against a fantastic team in India is, is always going to be tough. And like I said, you’ve got to absorb those tough periods of time and and try and shift and wrestle momentum back at others,” the Englishman added.
