India vs England, 5th Test: What Jonny Bairstow Said About His On-Field Exchange With Virat Kohli In Ongoing Edgbaston Test

India currently hold the advantage in the ongoing rescheduled fifth Test against England at Edgbaston in Birmingham. Jonny Bairstow, though, had threatened to take the game away from India during the England first innings. The England batter, however, was struggling initially having scored 13 from 61 deliveries and survived a few close calls. But it all changed when Virat Kohli decided to launch a few verbal volleys at Bairstow. The two bickered for a while on the field and Bairstow then proceeded to smash 93 off his next 79 balls. The video of Kohli and Bairstow going at it went viral on social media and now the Englishman has spoken about what transpired in the middle.

“We have played against each other for a solid 10 years now. It’s a bit of craic. We are fiercely competitive on the field and that’s what it is about. We are playing Test cricket and we are two competitors. That’s why we play the game and it brings the best out of us. Whatever it takes, you want to get your team over the line and that’s part and parcel of the game,” Bairstow said in a video shared on Twitter by Sky Sports News.

“We’re fiercely competitive.”

Jonny Bairstow and Virat Kohli had an old-fashioned battle of words on day three of the fifth Test between England and India. pic.twitter.com/z3XS2JdsOG

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) July 3, 2022

Bairstow ended up scoring 106 off just 140 deliveries. But despite his superlative knock India took a 132-run first-innings lead with Mohammed Siraj and stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah starring with the ball.

India then extended their advantage as Cheteshwar Pujara played a solid knock to take India’s lead to 257 runs at stumps on Day 3. Pujara was unbeaten on 50 with Rishabh Pant giving him company on 30 not out.

In India’s first innings, Pant (146 off 111 balls) and Ravindra Jadeja (104) hit brilliant centuries to help India post a formidable 416 on the board.