One of the best I have ever faced – Virat Kohli hails James Anderson

Virat Kohli and James Anderson have been involved in plenty of gladiatorial tussles in the last seven years. The England veteran got the better of the Indian cricket team skipper eventually during the period from 2012 to 2014 while Kohli bounced back in style in 2016 and 2018 by not getting dismissed to Anderson even once. On Wednesday, James Anderson created history as he became the first pace bowler in Test history to take 600 wickets. During the third and final Test at the Rose Bowl in Southampton between England and Pakistan, Anderson dismissed Pakistan skipper Azhar Ali and created history. Only three bowlers are ahead of Anderson now and they are Anil Kumble, Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan.

Taking to his official Twitter handle, Kohli hailed James Anderson’s feat and labelled him the best bowler he had ever faced. “Congratulations @jimmy9 for this outstanding achievement of 600 wickets. Definitely one of the best bowlers I’ve faced,” Kohli tweeted.

Anderson dominates, Kohli turns it around

When Virat Kohli was taking baby steps in Test cricket, he was subject to an intense examination from James Anderson. It all began in the 2012 series at home. During the Kolkata Test, Anderson dismissed him for six as he edged a full ball to the slips where Graeme Swann took the catch.

However, in the 2014 series against England, Kohli’s technical flaw outside the off stump was ruthlessly exposed by Anderson. He dismissed him cheaply in Lord’s and Southampton while in the Old Trafford Test, Anderson got the better of Kohli twice as he ended up dismissing him five times since 2012. Kohli managed only 134 runs at an average of 13.4 and he has labelled that series as his ‘worst-ever’.

Kohli, though, has bounced back in grand style. In the 2016 series, he overcame his poor record when he blasted 655 runs at an average of 109 with two centuries, including 235 in Mumbai. When India toured England in 2018, Kohli’s 2014 horrors were thrown out of the window. He survived an intense testing from Anderson in his backyard but yet managed to score 593 runs at an average of 59 with two centuries. The contests between Anderson and Kohli was indeed a marquee clash.