Jonny Bairstow will mark his 100th appearance for England in Tests at the HPCA Stadium, Dharamshala, on Thursday. They take on India in the fifth and final Test of the Series.
The Series may be a lost cause for Ben Stokes’s side as they are 3-1 down, but he and the team will want to depart India’s shores on a high, by making it 3-2.
The 72-run partnership between Shubman Gill and Dhruv Jurel all but ended England’s hopes of squaring the series, after having India on the ropes at 120-3, though you could argue that the match was lost in England’s second innings collapse from 110-4, to 145 all out.
A Dream Come True
Bairstow, who has 5,974 runs in his 99-Test matches, is proud of his achievements thus far, and is eager to contribute in his landmark Test.
“It means a hell of a lot,” “Every young kid that sets out on a journey playing professional cricket wants to try to play 100 Test matches.
Bairstow: BBC Sport
In his eight innings of this Series, the Yorkshireman has scored 170 runs, with the highest score of 38, coming in the Fourth Test in Ranchi.
This has been the most frustrating thing about England’s batting in this Series, getting off to good starts, but failing to capitalise on them.
However, it is not all doom and gloom, as Joe Root’s unbeaten 122 in the first innings at Ranchi proved that if you show some application in your batting, you can score more runs, to put your team in a stronger position.
This is exactly what England failed to do in their second innings, especially when Bairstow and Zak Crawley failed to capitalise on their 45-run partnership.
Another thing Stokes must learn to do, is how to get rid of the oppositions tail as quickly as possible,
Dhruv Jurel and Kuldeep Yadav’s eighth-wicket partnership of 76, cost England a significant first innings lead, as India were 177-7 at one stage, and managed to claw their way back into the game, with a first innings total of 307.
Had Stokes been a little more ruthless and started the third day with James Anderson instead of Ollie Robinson, things might have been different, purely based on the 41-year-old being the most experienced bowler.
Coming back to Bairstow’s milestone Test match, he will become the 16th player for England to reach 100 appearances.
Anderson holds the record for the most appearances, with 186, at the age of 41.
Team News
In terms of team selection for tomorrow, there is some concern for Shoaib Bashir and Ollie Robinson, who were taken ill on the eve of the game.
Embed from Getty ImagesAlthough the medical team have stated that the duo was suffering with a stomach bug, we will have to wait and see whether they will feature in the playing XI tomorrow morning.
Embed from Getty ImagesMeanwhile, India’s ace speedster Jasprit Bumrah is expected to make a return to the side, after being rested for the fourth Test.
Bumrah (157) is just six wickets away from surpassing Vinoo Mankad in the list of India’s highest wicket takers.
Meanwhile, there is a likelihood that Rajat Patidar will be given one last chance tor prove his potential as a future Test player for India.
Embed from Getty ImagesPatidar who came in as a replacement for Virat Kohli, who was on paternity leave, has scored just 28 runs in his three innings thus far in the series,
Can he show why he deserves to be at the international level?
Will Bairstow make an impression on his 100th Test?
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