India vs England 5th Test: England middle order batter Jonny Bairstow was a sight to behold on the morning of the Day 3 of the 5th and last Test between India and England going at Edgbaston. England were reeling at 84 for 5 when Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow resumed proceedings. Both the batters looked to attack the Indian bowlers from the first ball on Day 3. There were some fantastic shots while some risky ones played too. Indian seamers made the ball talk on some occasions. There was drama as well. Shardul Thakur dropped Stokes off Mohammed Shami only to remove him off his own bowling, courtesy a blinder from Jasprit Bumrah at mid off. It appeared as if Bairstow will switch off the 'Bazball' mode and adopt a more patient approach but it was not to be. He continued hitting the likes of Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur out of the park. 


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In some ways, Virat Kohli is responsible for Bairstow switching on his beast mode on. Bairstow struggled to get going on the first 60 balls. Then came a banter between the two cricketers. Kohli had something to say and Bairstow too did not hold back. After this round of sledging took place, Bairstow played 52 balls and smashed 78 runs. Before the spat with Kohli, he was on 13 off 61 balls. When the rain interrupted the first session before early lunch was called, Bairstow had scored 91 off 113 balls that included 12 fours and 2 sixes. Clearly, the Kohli sledge had an effect on Bairstow. It may have also worked for India had a big shot resulted in a catch. But Bairstow made sure he cleared the ropes with clean hitting. 


India will need to bowl well from here to get a good lead going into the second innings.