James Anderson sheds light on Jonny Bairstow's reaction to Virat Kohli's sledging in the fifth Test

England won the rescheduled fifth Test match against India to level the five-match series 2-2. Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root batted brilliantly as England chased down 378 to win the Edgbaston Test. However, most of the focus was on the fiery on-field altercation between Bairstow and Virat Kohli during the first innings of the Test.

England bowler James Anderson has now spoken out about the incident, revealing what Bairstow said in the dressing room about the argument with Kohli. He also said that Bairstow is the last person to rub up the wrong way and get them proper in the zone, into the game mode.

"Jonny was about 80 not out at the break in the first innings and Virat had been going at him and sledging him a lot. This was early in his innings as well I don't know if you saw the strike-rate difference? His strike-rate was about 20 before Virat started sledging him and about 150 after he sledged him," Anderson said on the Tailenders Podcast.

"His first words back in the dressing room at lunch were: 'When will they learn to shut it?' As Jimmy Neesham put it in his tweet, if there's somebody you don't want to rub up the wrong way and get them proper in the zone, into the game mode, it is Jonny Bairstow," he added.

Jonny Bairstow spoke up about the incident

A video of their banter had gone viral over the internet. Jonny Bairstow had also shed light on the incident after the match.

"We have played against each other for a solid 10 years now. It's a bit of craic. We are fiercely competitive on the field and that's what it is about. We are playing Test cricket and we are two competitors. That's why we play the game and it brings the best out of us. Whatever it takes, you want to get your team over the line and that's part and parcel of the game," Bairstow had said in a video shared on Twitter by Sky Sports News.