Jonny Bairstow recently caught the limelight as the English batter scored a magnificent ton against New Zealand, in the second Test match of the ongoing three-match series. Bairstow scored 136 runs in 92 deliveries, at a strike rate of 147.82. During this knock, the right-hand batter smashed 14 boundaries and 7 sixes!
After Bairstow’s supremacy at Trent Bridge, the former England captain, the Test proficient, Sir Alastair Cook compared Bairstow’s knock with ‘Brian Lara’s Cricket,’ a Play Station game, on ‘cheat mode’.
Bairstow came in to bat at a crucial moment as England had lost Zak Crawley, the opener, without scoring a run. Furthermore, the centurians from the first two innings, Ollie Pope and Joe Root too, couldn’t sustain for long. The Trent Bridge crowd was expecting another thriller, but it was Bairstow who made it a one-sided contest.
The top ten moments from a simply incredible Test match 👏 🏴 #ENGvNZ 🇳🇿 pic.twitter.com/BttnT6qMMC
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 15, 2022
Bairstow came in and notched the second-fastest Test hundred by any English batter; he managed to achieve the mark in 77 deliveries. He was just a delivery behind to break into the top. Gilbert Jessop, the former England cricketer, holds the record for the fastest Test century by an English batter; he has scored a ton in just 76 deliveries.
Meanwhile, Cook, commentating on the BBC, for the Test, stated: “I’m probably the least qualified to comment on what’s just happened in the last hour. So, I’m going to sum it up in one sentence. What Jonny Bairstow has just played is like playing Brian Lara’s Cricket on cheat mode.”
England register an epic triumph at Trent Bridge
England, batting in the fourth innings on the fifth day of the test, had to chase 299 runs, as they bowled the remaining New Zealand batters out, in the first session. Bairstow started it slowly, scoring his fifty in 51 deliveries. But he changed the gears, smashed the Kiwi bowlers, entertained the crowd, and brought up the century in the next 26 balls.
Bairstow, later on, was joined by the new English skipper Ben Stokes. The duo built a partnership of 179 runs for the fifth wicket and this is where England began the celebrations.
Jonny Bairstow fell against Trent Boult, but Stokes went on and carried the bat. He scored 75* runs in 70 deliveries and guided his side to the victory. England is up with a 2-0 lead in the series and will now prepare for the Headingley contest, starting on June 23.
Written By Prachi Pisal
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