The third day of the ongoing Test between India and England saw plenty of momentum fluctuating between the two sides. The highlight of the day was Jonny Bairstow, who single-handedly helped the hosts to make a comeback of sorts on the back of a brilliant century. Bairstow’s performance can be attributed to the fine run of form that he has been in lately.
However, there was another incident involving Jonny Bairstow and former Indian skipper, Virat Kohli as earlier in the day, Kohli was seen having an animated discussion with Bairstow on the crease. From whatever little could be heard, Kohli allegedly fired up the English batter by saying, “Little bit faster than Southee, heh?”.
WATCH – Ben Stokes Bowled A Jaffa To Virat Kohli To Increase His Troubles In The Rough Patch
Virat Kohli sledged Bairstow when he was playing at 16 runs off 65 balls and it provoked him to bowl at a brisk pace. As it turned out, the move backfired big time, as Bairstow went on to score 90 runs off the next 75 deliveries to keep the hosts alive in the game. Thankfully, Mohammed Shami managed to dismiss him before England could come close to wiping off the deficit.
Fans on social media were quite irked with Kohli’s provoking Bairstow. One of them was former India opener Virender Sehwag, who never shies away from delivering his candid verdicts on social media. And Viru had no hesitation in calling out Kohli for his ‘unnecessary’ sledging on this occasion.
WATCH – Virat Kohli takes a stunning catch to remove Jonny Bairstow
“Before Kohli’s sledging, Bairstow was batting at strike rate of 21. After sledging, he batted at 150. Bairstow was playing slow like Cheteshwar Pujara, but Kohli’s sledging unnecessarily made him bat like Rishabh Pant”, Viru wrote on his Twitter post.
Jonny Bairstow's Strike Rate before Kohli's Sledging -: 21
Post Sledging – 150Pujara ki tarah khel rahe thhey, Kohli ne Pant banwa diya bewajah sledge karke #IndvsEng
— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) July 3, 2022
