Former England spinner Monty Panesar hailed Jonny Bairstow ahead of his 100th Test and revealed one quality of the wicket-keeper batter that stands out.
Bairstow has been going through a barren run and it has reflected in his underwhelming performances in the Test series against India. In the first three games, he scored at an average of 17.00. Throughout the series, the 34-year-old has struck 170 runs at an average of 21.25 in eight innings. He will be looking to end his dry run in his milestone Test appearance with Panesar wishing him the best. "Jonny Bairstow, congratulations to him, I think he has done brilliantly well. I think the one thing that stands out for me is whenever I played with him was his intensity in training. He really pushed himself and he loves training really hard and you know he likes the battle so you can see how much it means to him and his family. I wish him all the best, he really deserves a lot of success," Panersar told ANI. Bairstow's true potential was on exhibition during Stokes' first six matches as the captain of the Test team. He amassed four centuries and struck 681 runs at a rate of 96.59, and an average of 75.66. However, after that string of performances, he has struggled to put up runs and live up to his reputation of the reliable batter that he has been for England over the years. Overall, Bairstow has amassed 5974 in 99 Test appearances at an average of 36.4 and a strike rate of 58.7. He has 12 centuries and 26 fifties to his name as well. The right-handed batter will make his 100th Test appearance against India at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala on Thursday. (ANI)
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