IND vs ENG 2022: 3 ways India can dismiss Jonny Bairstow early 

It's not just Joe Root that India must contend with when they take on a new-look England in the rescheduled fifth Test from last year at Edgbaston, starting July 1. Jonny Bairstow has been in such ominous form that he has become one of the more dangerous England batters that India should be wary of.

Bairstow's last four innings have seen two scintillating centuries and a dashing half-century against New Zealand. He was instrumental in England's 3-0 whitewash with scores of 136, 71*, and 162, giving them the firepower to take on India's formidable bowling attack.

The phenomenal run of form comes on the back of the latest piece of instruction he's been given — follow the same approach he does in the limited-overs format. It does help that he has a skipper and coach, respectively, in Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum — a duo who carved their careers as attacking players.

Bairstow is the world's leading run-scorer in Tests this year with 774 runs at an average of 64.50 in 2022 that included four centuries. This makes him one of the key players in the English unit that India will look to get the better of.

Ahead of the Birmingham Test, we take a look at three ways India can dismiss Bairstow early on.

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#1 India must introduce pace at both ends

Mohammad Shami and Mohammad Siraj have had the better of Jonny Bairstow five and four times respectively in all of their encounters. This suggests that the English batter has a weakness towards sheer pace and swing — something that Shami and Siraj are capable of.

Edgbaston favors batters but does have something in it for the quicks as well. Should India press hard with two quicks at either end, they may have the chance to send Bairstow back early

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#2 Angle the ball in

The majority of Bairstow's dismissals were leg before, suggesting that he has a vulnerability to the ball coming in. If he does manage to get past the swing, the other option would be to cramp him for room.

Siraj could be pivotal for India, considering he's castled the gloveman twice. Perhaps an extended spell from the quicks who can get the ball to nip back in sharply might do the trick.

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#3 Fox him with flight

This would be one of those instances where Ravichandran Ashwin's guile would come into play. Having got the better of him thrice, he could induce Bairstow into playing a false shot, or playing too early.

For a batter who generally plays spin well, Jonny Bairstow's attacking brand of cricket could well be his downfall if Ashwin manages to get him to mistime a few. While there is that possibility of being taken for runs, the risk might be worth the final reward.