ENG vs IND: No point looking at the figures: Jonny Bairstow promises Bazball in 4th innings chase at Edgbaston

England middle order batsman Jonny Bairstow believes that there is not point looking at the figures they need to chase down in the fourth innings. Already ahead by 257 runs in the fifth, rearranged Test match, India are looking well set to put on a huge total. Cheteshwar Pujara and Rishabh Pant are at the crease and have already brought up a 50-run partnership after the early wickets in their second innings of the game.

“Whatever is set is set and we’ll go about it as to whatever set. There’s no point in looking at figures and everything on that. We know that this, we know we’re planning a Test match. We know this is going to be day four and day five pitches that we’re going to be playing on. That’s okay. And yeah, we’ll be going about it in the same manner. And I’m looking to take the game forward.”

Bairstow has been going through a rich vein of form having scored three centuries and a fifty in his last three Test matches. He has been England’s most prolific batter since the Ashes. Speaking about the same, Bairstow looked in a happy frame of mind and said that it was great fun.

“Yeah, pretty pleased. I mean, most of the time it’s pretty good when, well, good or bad when I have to speak to you guys so … recently, it’s, it’s been good. Look, it’s been great fun out there and it’s part and parcel of Test cricket isn’t it? I mean you look at last night.”

Bairstow’s innings on Day 3 of the Test match was like a tale of two halves. The first one was where he struggled to put bat to ball against the Indian pacers and the second one, where after an altercation with Virat Kohli, he ripped apart the Indian bowling line-up.

“Look they bowled very well last night and to be on and off like we were was never going to be easy. I mean, I think Shami had 18 overs that he bowled yesterday from all of the breaks. And when you’ve got breaks to enable your opening bowler to keep having them to keep coming back harder and harder and harder, there’s bound to be tough periods of play. So last night was definitely consolidation,” he said.

India started off well in the morning of the third day as well, but things got out of the hand after the Virat Kohli incident.

“And then look, this morning they bowled well, didn’t they? The first of the first 20 minutes, I mean, again, their two big guys leading in the attack, it was tricky. The ball was swinging around and everything … It was just trying to shift that momentum back and trying to wrestle the momentum back. And that’s why we love Test cricket, isn’t it? There’s ebbs and flows all the way through,” he concluded.