My Thought Process Was Exactly The Same As Last Game: Jonny Bairstow

England opening batsman Jonny Bairstow missed out on a well-deserved century in the first ODI; however, he reached a hundred in the second and shaped his side’s victory. Jonny Bairstow’s 124 trumped KL Rahul’s 108 in the second ODI as England chased 337 to level the three-match series with six wickets and 39 balls to spare. Jonny Bairstow stated that he felt great to cross the line in the second after missing out on the last one.

England won the toss for the second time in a row and sent India to bat. The home side started steadily as the openers, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan, departed early. KL Rahul and Virat Kohli steadily compiled a 121-run stand before the former reached a hundred and Rishabh Pant launched an onslaught. Pant slammed a 40-ball 77, while Hardik Pandya triggered pyrotechnics of his own to lift India to 336.

England responded by starting steadily as Bhuvneshwar Kumar was on point with the new ball. Jason Roy began to cut loose and he accumulated a second consecutive century-stand with Jonny Bairstow. Roy’s departure brought Ben Stokes to the crease and the visitors rallied further with another 175-run stand in only 117 balls. The Brits wobbled briefly; however, Dawid Malan and Liam Livingstone saw them home convincingly.

My thought process was exactly the same as last game: Jonny Bairstow

Jonny Bairstow felt relieved to get over the line in the second ODI after missing out on the opening match. The right-handed batsman admired Ben Stokes for his entertaining knock and was delighted with how he and Jason Roy have been going about things at the top. Bairstow believed that India bowled well with the new ball and trusted themselves to go hard later once they negotiated that threat. The Yorkshire batsman hopes for his partnership with Jason Roy to continue as long as it could.

“Obviously disappointed to miss out in the last game but delighted to get across the line in this one. To be very honest, my thought process was exactly the same as last game. I thought we were excellent in the last game, we were ahead of the run-rate by a long way. We saw Ben play some rather entertaining shots. It’s natural. Today I faced 8 balls in the first 8-9 overs and Jason was blazing at the other end. Today they bowled well at the top. Bhuvi, we know his skills and how difficult he’s to get away. We both have the game to catch up later. The relationship we have at the top of the order is great, and long may that continue,” Jonny Bairstow said in the post-match presentation.

Also Read: It Was My Decision To Take On The Spinners: Ben Stokes