JOIN USJames Anderson, returning after a prolonged shoulder injury lay-off, showed just why he is England’s most successful pace bowler, claiming three of the four Indian wickets to fall in testing bowling conditions.
“It was great,” was his reaction after returning figures of 3/44 on a tiring day for the tourists. “I spent the last two months working really hard to get back into the side and it’s been frustrating at times, but it’s been worth all the hard work I’ve put in. Getting back out there with the lads was a great feeling and to get back on the board with a couple of wickets was even better. I’ve missed playing, I’ve missed taking wickets. Thar sort of feeling you can’t get in any other walk of life. I struggle with it. To get among the wickets meant a lot,” he remarked.
Having seen India pile up 317 for four on the opening day, Anderson felt England were in a tough position at the moment.
“Not sure it (pitch) will stay together as well as in Rajkot,” he pointed out. “There are already signs of a few balls keeping low. There is more variable bounce and a few balls turned. We’re in a tough position now. Need to have a good day tomorrow with the ball and have an extremely good first innings with the bat. I thought the wicket was tough to bowl on. The outfield was heavy. There will be some sore legs together. The two guys who got hundreds set about their business brilliantly. That showed they are world-class players.”
Virat was Anderson’s bunny during India’s tour England in 2014 and the battle between the two was interesting to watch. It can be safely said, though, that the Indian skipper won the battle on the day. Kohli scored 25 off the 44 balls he faced from Anderson and looked largely comfortable facing him.
“I bowled a few balls at him when he came in,” Anderson noted. “(With) someone like him, (I) feel like it’s important to get him out with the new ball. If you don’t get him out, he’ll punish you like he did today. We let ourselves down about half an hour before tea. On that pitch, we’re reasonably happy with what we achieved,” he thought.
On England’s bowlers’ inability to get the ball reverse, Anderson had this to offer: “We bowled some cross seam early on. The pitch was not very abrasive. Not really chewing the ball up as we’d like it to. The outfield and square are quite lush, so not many areas where we can get the ball into the state we want it. We got a bit of reverse, from 40 to 55 – a tiny amount.”