England batter Jonny Bairstow has claimed that there was “literally nothing” between him and Virat Kohli. The duo was involved in a heated argument on day three of the fifth Test match at the Edgbaston in Birmingham. The umpires Aleem Dar and Richard Kettleborough had to step in to calm things down between the two.
Virat Kohli seemed unhappy with Jonny Bairstow after the England batter said something to him. The former India skipper was livid and walked up to Bairstow and asked him to shut up and focus on his batting. The argument got heated when the umpires intervened.
The incident seemed to have fired up Jonny Bairstow, who took on the bowling attack. He slammed 93 runs off 79 deliveries after Virat Kohli’s sledging. Speaking about the incident post the third day’s play, Jonny Bairstow stressed that there was nothing between the two. He jokingly stated,
“Refused to invite him for dinner.”
“As I mentioned earlier, there was literally 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,” added Bairstow.
Jonny Bairstow scored 106 runs off 140 deliveries at a strike rate of 75.51. His knock included fourteen boundaries and a couple of sixes. This was Bairstow’s fifth Test century this year for England. The hosts managed to score 284 runs in their first innings, handing India a lead of 132 runs.
Is there anyone in the world better than @jbairstow21 right now? 🦁
🏴 #ENGvIND 🇮🇳
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 3, 2022
Playing against India is always going to be tough: Jonny Bairstow
Jonny Bairstow’s crucial knock helped England to avoid the follow-on in the innings. At one point, the hosts were 83/5, however, Bairstow’s partnerships with Ben Stokes and then Sam Billings, steadied their innings to an extent. The centurion expressed that it is tough to play against India. He stated that one has to battle the tough periods to shift the momentum in the game. Bairstow said,
“We’re very lucky to be out there playing because that’s why we play the game, isn’t it? Two very competitive people out on the field doing what they love. And that’s why we play the game. 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 craic out there, and to be playing against a fantastic team like India is always going to be tough. And like I said, you’ve got to absorb those tough periods of time and try and shift and wrestle momentum back at others,” he added.
In the second innings, India has put on 125 runs on the board at the loss of three wickets at the end of day three. They have a lead of 257 runs, with Cheteshwar Pujara unbeaten on a fifty and Rishabh Pant at the crease.
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