ENG vs IND | Bairstow and his theories: What has changed for him after 'Bazzball'

The postponed fifth Test between England and India is ideally in the balance, with the hosts gradually crawling back into the match. After India was bowled out for 416 runs, England is 200/6 in their first innings.

The third day of the game is on the way and is currently on hold due to rain interruption, which has been extended into Lunch.

India had the hosts reeling at 84 for 5 at stumps on Day 2. But Jonny Bairstow, who is currently in the form of his life, has staged a brilliant comeback for his team. He has stitched together two momentum-changing partnerships with Ben Stokes and Sam Billings.

In both the partnerships, the dominating partner has been Bairstow. He is batting at 91 runs from 113 deliveries and slowly taking the game away from the visitors.

In this article, we look at how Brendon McCullum's appointment as the England team's Test coach has brought forward the Bairstow 2.0.

Evolution of Bairstow with the introduction of 'Bazzball'

Brendon McCullum, the coach of England’s Test team, himself was a player who believed in counter-attacking as the best way to dig a team out of pressure situations. He has induced the same mentality in the English Test side. Bairstow seems to be the player who has reaped the most significant benefit of this team's new strategy.

Bairstow's counter-attacking approach helped England's cause in the recently concluded series against New Zealand. He scored 394 runs against the Kiwis at a strike rate of 120.12 with a couple of match-defining centuries to his name.

The freedom that McCullum has given him has brought out the best in him. Let us look at the batter's performance before and after the introduction of the 'Baz-ball'.

Observation: The table clearly shows how Bairstow has enjoyed the freedom the team management has given him. There is a significant improvement in Bairstow's batting in all aspects.

Not only has the batter scored more runs per innings under McCullum, but he has also been more impactful for the team. A strike rate of 109.97, when a player scores a bulk of runs in the longest format of the game, becomes a momentum-changing contribution. 

Conclusion: The Bairstow 2.0 has been reaping significant benefits for the 'Three Lions'. They will hope that he converts the 91 not out into a big hundred and completely changes the game's complexion in the team's favour. On the other hand, India will be hoping that they see his back soon after play resumes and strengthen their hold on the match.