Picture Credit: Twitter
Jonny Bairstow gave the perfect reply after he was poked by Virat Kohli during Day 3’s play of the fifth rescheduled Test. The swashbuckling batter took the Indian bowlers to the cleaners and hit them in every corner of the ground. Bairstow's intensity can be understood by looking at his strike rate after the verbal exchange with Kohli.
The batter took 60 balls for the first 13 runs he scored but he took only 53 balls for the next 78 runs. Even with his captain falling, Bairstow kept the runs flowing for England. Now, as Bairstow was making India pay, talks around Virat Kohli poking the batter with his words started doing rounds. Everyone felt that those words from Kohli only fueled up Bairstow.
New Zealand’s Jimmy Neesham who is quite active on social media also took part in the discussion and came up with a piece of advice for India on how to keep Bairstow quiet and happy. Neesham first questioned the poke from Virat Kohli and then shared his valuable advice.
“Why do opposing teams keep making Jonny Bairstow angry lol, he gets 10x better. Give him a gift basket each morning, let him know you’re having his car valeted while he’s batting. Anything to keep him happy,” wrote Neesham on Twitter.
Bairstow continues his good run in 2022
Although Kohli’s words might have channeled up some motivation into Bairstow, that cannot take all the credit. The English batter has been in some serious form in Test cricket this year. Before this Test against India, Bairstow played a crucial role in England’s 3-0 victory over New Zealand.
His quickfire century (136 off 92) in the second Test of that series was the best knock he played this year. He finished the series as the second-highest run-getter for England (394 at 78.80 and a strike rate of 120.12). Not only that, Bairstow (854*) is the leading run-scorer in Tests in 2022.