Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag has said that former team India captain Virat Kohli's altercation with Jonny Bairstow in the fifth Test at Edgbaston against England was unnecessary.
Team India put up a huge score of 416 runs. Despite England playing rather poorly, Bairstow recorded 106 runs in an inning by hitting 14 fours and two sixes. Team England ended the match with a score of 284.
During the 32nd over of England's innings, Kohli and Bairstow got into a heated argument, with Kohli telling Bairstow to "shut up". To resolve the situation, the umpires and England captain Ben Stokes had to step in between the overs.
“Shut up! Just stand and bat,” Kohli said, as recorded by the stump mics.
Nevertheless, after a few overs, both players giggled at each other. Then, Bairstow's batting approach underwent a dramatic shift, and he began to pound the bowlers for some rapid runs.
Kohli shoved Bairstow, which made him appear to be a little upset. He used the anger to score 106 runs off 140 balls to keep England's ship from sinking. While Bairstow was at-bat, England was down 149/6.
Sehwag said that the altercation between Kohli and Bairstow was unnecessary.
"[Bairstow] was playing like (Cheteswar) Pujara, Kohli unnecessarily turned him into (Rishabh) Pant with his sledging," Sehwag said, as translated by Zee News
New Zealand all-rounder Jimmy Neeson also made fun of the incident. Neeson said Bairstow's performance improved tenfold due to the provocation.
A video of Kohli telling Bairstow to shut up and focus on batting went viral on social media.
Fans took to Twitter to make funny comparisons between Bairstow and Kohli. There were also some similar scenes on Saturday, but that of Kohli and Bairstow was on a different level, especially with the memes fans shared on the blue bird platform.
At this point in his career, Bairstow is playing at the highest level of his ability. Bairstow's century was a big reason why England did not have to follow on. After 54.1 overs, Mohammed Shami was able to get him out. Kohli snatched the ball almost next to his face after making a superb catch at the first slip.
The debate between Kohli and Bairstow came to a dramatic and ironic conclusion. There is still a deficit of 150 runs for England, and both Bairstow and Sam Billings have been dismissed, which should give India a significant advantage.
Bairstow, who had been paying close attention to the game the night before, had only 13 runs after 63 balls, but after a few words with Kohli, he sped to his 11th Test century, getting his 87 runs in just 56 balls.
Bairstow was out when Kohli caught a ball from Shami. Kohli then blew Bairstow a flying kiss as he left. The former India captain was then caught on 20 by Joe Root after a spectacular delivery by Stokes and Billings' juggle.
