Mohammed Siraj celebrates taking a wicket
India pacer Mohammed Siraj said that it is imperative for bowlers to stay calm when batters come up fighting hammers and tongs.
Bairstow smashed a century on Sunday, his third in successive Tests this summer, to help England post 284 in their first innings in reply to India's 416.
But, Siraj who took four wickets and is the leading wicket-taker in the match so far for the visitors, said they were not perturbed.
"As bowlers, we had to just keep patience. Bairstow is in form and he has been continuously playing attacking (game) since the New Zealand series. So we were aware his confidence was high," Siraj said.
"Our plan was simple, stick to our basics. We just kept believing in our ability, no matter what he did, it was a matter of one ball - be it an inswinger or seaming in off the pitch. In England, it is common to beat a batter multiple times, you just need to be patient and concentrate on your process," he added.
Siraj said the Indian bowlers had an idea about English batters' weak points.
"When we saw the New Zealand series, we realized that our every bowler is 140-plus and they (New Zealand bowlers) didn't have that," Siraj said.
"We had that ability and we also had played against England last year. So that was our plus point, as we were aware of their weak points and that is why we got the success."
India finished the third day at 125 for three in their second innings, extending their overall lead to 257 so far.
Siraj feels it would be difficult for English batters to chase down anything above 350 at Edgbaston.
"In the first innings, the pitch was helpful, to begin with, but after that it became flatter. So our only plan was to hit consistently in one area. If we took it easy, then we would end up leaking runs," he said.
(Inputs from PTI)
