Ian Chappell thrilled to see Virat Kohli prospering in the battle against James Anderson

Ahead of the five-match Test series between India and England, all the talk was surrounded around Virat Kohli who had failed miserably four years ago. James Anderson was his nemesis and there was a technical flaw in his batting in the longest format of the game. After three Test matches of the series, the Indian captain is yet to get out to the swing master and is the leading run-getter by a mile. His ability to survive and prosper in this battle has impressed Ian Chappell who has showered him with praises.

Kohli has so far amassed 440 runs with a couple of centuries and the same number of fifty-plus scores. None of the other batsmen from both the teams has even managed to score half of his runs as the second best is Jonny Bairstow with 206 runs in five innings. Not that he hasn’t been troubled by Anderson at all. There have been a hell lot of plays and misses and add to that the generosity shown by the slip fielders.

He’s found a way to survive

Ian Chappell criticised England’s poor slip catching but also credited Virat Kohli for making it count. He has proved that he is the best batsman in the world and the former Australian felt that not giving a wicket to his 2014 nemesis is surely a huge achievement for him. “Fans are currently enjoying another tilt of the highest quality in the battle between Jimmy Anderson and Virat Kohli. In 2014, Kohli experienced a run drought in England and Anderson was the undoubted victor in those tussles,” he wrote in his column for Mid-Day.

“However, on this tour, Kohli, with a little assistance from the butter-fingered English slip fielders, has prevailed. That’s not to say that Kohli has dominated Anderson, but he’s found a way to survive — and then prosper — which is an achievement against the master swing bowler,” Chappell further wrote. He also felt that the last couple of Test matches will effectively define Kohli’s leadership skills. He hoped for him to continue denying Anderson his wicket and complete a historic comeback in the Test series.

“The next few weeks will be a defining period in Kohli’s captaincy career. He’s already shown on many occasions that he’s a master batsman; if he can complete the resurrection of this Indian team and find a way to thwart Anderson and his English cohorts, then it will go down as an example of masterful leadership,” the 74-year-old concluded.

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