SK player of the day: Jonny Bairstow for his match-winning performance at Headingley
The England Cricket Team have been a rampant force in Limited overs cricket, and they have absolutely smashed the Pakistan team in the ongoing series. Such has been their dominance that they have hardly broken a sweat and have taken a 4-0 lead in the 5-match series. This has been some development after the abysmal performance in the 2015 World Cup.
The primary reason behind this resurgence is the fact that they have found different players putting up their hands and delivering, and this has ensured that captain Eoin Morgan has plenty of options to fiddle around with. In the fourth match, it was the turn of Jonny Bairstow to play the match-winning knock on his home ground.
This performance is also noteworthy because Bairstow got the nod to play the game barely half an hour before the game, as Jos Buttler picked up an injury during training. But the Yorkie has been in such sparkling form at the moment, that he cannot help but score runs with the bat, even if he is half awake.
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Despite all his flamboyance with the bat, Bairstow has not been half as decent behind the stumps, but he ironed out this flaw with some aplomb in the match. He was very neat behind the stumps, and was agile during the fag end of the innings, especially to Chris Jordan. He then came out to bat, when England were in a spot of bother at 72 for 4, chasing 248.
He quickly found his stride and stitched a decisive partnership which was worth 103 with Ben Stokes for the fifth wicket and snuffed out any hope for Pakistan. He was nifty on his feet and used the crease superbly against the spinners on a pitch which was gripping a bit. It was not a flashy innings, but was a measured one and he saw his team through with 83-ball 61.
However, the man himself is content that he might not be a part of the next game if Jos Buttler is declared fit. He is not complaining, though, and this scenario in many ways is an indication of the depth of the English ODI set-up.
"Every time I get an opportunity I want to try to impress, and that's all I can do. Opportunities at the moment are a bit few and far between. You've just got to take it on the chin, crack on and hope you take the opportunity when it does come along", Bairstow said after his match-winning performance.