Jonny Bairstow: How a stroll back to the basics saw his rise to the summit

While it's never pleasant watching your national side lose an all-important game. Sometimes you just have to applaud the quality of cricket the opposition brought to the table. 

Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj, the three bowlers, have been the Supermen for the Indian side. Winning games one after another. 

However, it seemed like Jonny Bairstow was just kryptonite to the blokes; he battered them as Root rained fire from the other end.

Bairstow is an established name in the English white-ball format. Though the way he has transitioned into the red-ball format is nothing short of commendable. He has taken that white-ball style of play and groomed it perfectly to suit the game's longest format.

That classic array of shots have been a staple of Baistow's recent run in Test cricket. Just look at how he makes room and cuts the ball between the fielders at point and backward point. It's a treat for the eyes.

The English star has been leading the charge this season, with 994 runs in eight Test games when an average and strike rate are both at 76. That's utter madness! One of the key reasons behind the mountain of runs is how he found boundaries this year.

While one wouldn't use the word finesse to describe Bairstow, he has stuck to that classic approach. Bairstow isn't just wildly swinging the bat looking for boundaries like one would in limited over cricket. Instead, he has been a different entity, lost in his own sense of carnage. 

Out of his 994 runs this year, 584 have come out of boundaries. That's almost 59% of the runs he's accumulated. He's firing on all cylinders this year with six centuries to his name. With three games still left in the bank, he just might surpass Mohammad Yousuf for the most number of Test centuries in a year.

Although it's not just the runs that have been special about Bairstow's rejuvenated run this year. He's played the perfect anchor bailing his team out of precarious situations. 

Let's take a little stroll down memory lane, just back to England's tour of the West Indies. The visitors struggled on far too many occasions, but the way Bairstow bailed his team out was commendable. 

The one thing that separates Bairstow from the traditional anchors such as Cheteshwar Pujara, Usman Khwaja, Angelo Matthews and others is how he bats when he's out in the middle. 

He's almost cruising at a strike rate above 50 while making sure he doesn't lose his wicket.

Bairstow opened the West Indies tour with a brilliant 140 rescuing his team from the grave they had dug themselves in the first innings. After being reduced to 114/5, England needed a ray of hope to keep them alive in the contest.

While they were expecting a ray of hope. Bairstow shined like a beam. Ensuring that his team put up a commendable 311 runs on the board when all was done and dusted.

The transformation in West Indies has carried on this year. With Bairstow stamping his authority on the golden sheets with just one line in mind. 

"You shred it down to the basics, and you've got nothing more to lose!"