WATCH: James Anderson dismisses Pujara and Kohli on back to back deliveries

India got off to a solid start in the first Test match of the ongoing five-match series against England. The Indian pace attack bowled beautifully on the first day to skittle England out for a meagre total of 183. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami combined to pick up seven wickets between them as they gave […]
 By Sahil Jain Aug 5, 2021, 19:13 IST
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WATCH: James Anderson dismisses Pujara and Kohli on back to back deliveries

India got off to a solid start in the first Test match of the ongoing five-match series against England. The Indian pace attack bowled beautifully on the first day to skittle England out for a meagre total of 183. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami combined to pick up seven wickets between them as they gave India the best possible start to this series.

The Indian openers – Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul — didn’t disappoint either and they batted splendidly to lay an excellent foundation. The duo added 97 runs for the opening wicket and batted out 37.3 overs. Both batters played in excess of 100 balls and it is the first instance of an Indian opening pair playing 100+ balls each in a Test match outside Asia.

Also Read: WATCH: Persistent Pant plays down Virat Kohli; vehemently convinces skipper to take review

However, just when it looked like Rohit and Rahul would take India to lunch without any loss, the tide turned. Ollie Robinson bounced Rohit Sharma out to give England some hope heading into the lunch interval.

Yet, at 97/1, India had their noses well ahead and were in a comfortable position. England needed to build on that wicket they got on the stroke of lunch and the old workhorse James Anderson stood up for the hosts. In his second over after lunch, Anderson broke the back of the Indian middle-order as he dismissed Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli off successive deliveries to get England right back into the contest.

WATCH: James Anderson dismisses Pujara and Kohli on back to back deliveries

Anderson pitched the ball up and got the ball to move late as he found Pujara’s edge. Jos Buttler took a good low catch diving forward. Pujara’s struggles in England continued.

Virat Kohli strode out to the middle. The Indian skipper has been batting well but he hasn’t been able to convert his scores and get that coveted three-figure mark. And he was up against James Anderson too. Kohli vs Anderson has been the talking point almost every time India face England in a Test match since the start of the series in 2014.

Anderson had Kohli’s number till 2014. The Lancashire fast bowler dismissed Kohli five times between 2012 and 2014 and the latter averaged a mere 8.40. In that wretched tour of England in 2014, Kohli was out to Anderson four times.

However, Kohli bounced back in style post that. He didn’t get out against Anderson in the 2016 series at home or even in the 2018 series in England. Yes, there were a few catches dropped but Kohli managed to survive and battle it out against Anderson wonderfully. What’s more is that in the 2018 series in England, Kohli scored 114 runs off 270 balls against Anderson.

Also Read: Jasprit Bumrah evokes memories of Jennings dismissal with perfect setup against Burns

Kohli also managed to fend off Anderson at home earlier this year. But all that changed. Anderson’s first ball to Kohli in this ongoing Trent Bridge Test match was a wicket. The Indian skipper fell prey in that channel outside the off-stump as Anderson got one to nip away from the right-hander and Kohli edged one to Buttler behind the stumps.

Watch how James Anderson got the better of Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara here: 

 

 

 

In fact, Kohli’s dismissal was very similar to how he constantly got out against Anderson in 2014. That fifth-sixth stump channel outside the off-stump and Kohli went search for it and nicked one to the keeper.

Kohli’s first-ball duck saw India slip from 97/0 to 104/3 and then Ajinkya Rahane’s runout made matters worse as India fell in a spot of bother at 112/4.

If England turn things around in this Test match and can make a dramatic comeback, it will be down to these two wickets from Anderson. Moreover, the two scalps helped Anderson draw level to Anil Kumble’s Test wickets tally of 619 (third-most in Test cricket history).

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