James Anderson talks about his much-hyped rivalry with Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli, the Indian captain, has strained to decipher the tricks of England’s fast-bowler James Anderson, especially in Test cricket. The 36-year old speedster has nipped Kohli out five times in 13 matches and has turned out to be his nemesis. However, the Delhi-born batsman played Anderson out expertly en route his stupendous knocks in the first Test at Edgbaston in Birmingham.

Virat scored 149 and 51 in India’s first and second innings respectively and looked a class apart from the rest of the Indian batsmen. He played out Anderson expertly and didn’t let the bowler get the better of him. The seamer eventually ended up with four wickets in the match, which didn’t include Virat’s wicket. Recently, he opened up on his rivalry with the currently ranked number one batsman Test batsman.

The game was played in a good spirit

“There’s a fiercely competitive rivalry between myself and Virat Kohli — but also enormous mutual respect. Kohli is ranked the world’s No 1 Test batsman after scoring 200 runs in the first Test and I’m the top-ranked bowler. I guess that’s top-of-the-range stuff and I certainly loved the battle with him at Edgbaston.

I felt good bowling to Virat and my plans worked well. I might have dismissed him a few times with some plays and misses plus a dropped catch. I’ve been told only 17 of his 149 runs in the first innings came off my bowling,” Anderson was quoted as saying in The Sun.

“The game was played in a good spirit and there’s a lot of respect both ways between myself and Virat. There was the odd smile when I bowled a good ball and the odd smile from him,” the Lancashire-born fast bowler added. “I gave him a couple of freebies on his legs that he clipped for four and he said something like ‘That’s not like you, giving me freebies!’ It was teasing, really, leg-pulling. All in good spirit.”

England won the first of the five-match Test series against India at Edgbaston in Birmingham by 31 runs and are currently leading the series 1-0. Barring Kohli, the rest of the Indian batting capitulated alarmingly and they need to pull their socks up and perform in the second Test at Lord’s, starting August 9, in order for the visiting team to make a comeback.

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