Bairstow says England ready to chase any target
VISAKHAPATNAM: England wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow said they are ready to chase whatever India set them in the fourth innings, and that the team has the confidence to score on a pitch that is expected to turn more on the fourth day.
“I think there are definitely runs to be had on the pitch. When we bat, whether that will be tomorrow afternoon or evening, whenever that might be, there is definitely runs to be had on it. So that gives us confidence,” said Bairstow.
“Everybody can see there is a bit of uneven bounce. If a ball’s got your name on it, it’s got your name on it. We have shown them before we can bat for long periods on subcontinent pitches and score runs. At the end of the day it’s a run chase. That’s the exciting thing about it,” he said.
Asked what kind of target England would be comfortable with chasing, Bairstow said, “Anything really. We will try and chase down whatever is set. It’s important for us to make it difficult for India to score runs at the rate they want to,” he said. But he was hopeful England’s bowlers might give them the opportunity to decide their fate by taking wickets in Sunday’s morning session.
“We could come in tomorrow morning, take four wickets for very little runs. It will put us in a different position altogether,” said Bairstow.
Bairstow stitched a sixthwicket partnership of 110 with Ben Stokes on Saturday to continue the great run he has been having with the all-rounder.
“I think we complement each other, being left and right handed helps. We rotate the strike pretty well. It’s a combination of everything that seems to work quite nicely. Sometimes you have to let them go and sometimes it’s a case of reining each other in. The chats and the confidence work nice for us,” said Bairstow.
“We are pretty happy with the way Ben and I played, also the way Rash (Adil Rashid) played. I think that was natural. We needed to show some fun and we need to show fight for the rest of the game and the rest of the tour, whether that’s going to be the first innings or the fourth innings,” he said.