Pune: While both England and India may have fought tooth and nail so far in the two white-ball series, players from both sides have shown respect to each other.
England batsman Jonny Bairstow, who hammered his 11th ODI century, to lead his team to a remarkable chase of 337 runs in the second One-day International Friday acknowledged India skipper Virat Kohli for praising his batting.
“It’s very kind of him to say that. He’s been one of the best players around the world for a period of time. Likewise, I’m pleased to be striking the ball like I am at the moment,” said Bairstow when asked for his reaction on Kohli’s words of praise.
The India captain had said after Friday’s game that there was little his team could have done in the face of great batting by Bairstow and Ben Stokes who added 175 runs in 114 balls for the second wicket.
“We did falter a bit at times but mostly, that was some of the best hitting that you’ll ever see. We never had a chance during their (Bairstow-Stokes) partnership, that’s how good they were,” Kohli had said.
The relationship between rival international team players has become better in recent years due to the participation of those players in the Indian Premier League. Players from rival countries often end up sharing the same dressing room in the cash-rich league.
However, there have been some heated exchanges in the ongoing series as well.
Jos Buttler had a heated exchange with Kohli after his dismissal in the fifth and final T20 International in Ahmedabad. Buttler captained England in place of the injured Eoin Morgan in the second ODI Friday.
IANS
