"Getting Kohli Out That Early Was Quite Unusual" - James Anderson

James Anderson dismissed Virat Kohli for a first-ball duck which he termed as ‘quite unusual’ after the end of the day’s play in the first Test match at Trent Bridge. India was in a dominant position at 104/1 when Anderson produced a bit of magic to send Cheteshwar Pujara and the Indian skipper back to the hut off successive deliveries.

Anderson and Kohli’s rivalry goes back to the 2014 series when the English pacer had Kohli’s number throughout the series. After rectifying his mistakes, Kohli came back roaring in the 2018 tour when he dominated the 38-year-old without getting dismissed to him even once. Having dismissed Kohli off the very first delivery this time around, Anderson said it was an unfamiliar feeling to get the skipper out that early.

“I feel like I’ve challenged Virat in that area before. He either played, or missed, or left it. He’s always been good enough to sort of get through and today it was just one of those days where he nicked it. Getting Kohli out that early was quite unusual. He’s such a big wicket. To bowl the ball exactly where I wanted to and for him to nick it as well. Getting their best player out is something that doesn’t happen all that often,” Anderson said.

“Virat is an influential player; always good to get him early” – James Anderson

The double dismissal was a big moment in the game as it changed the approach of the batsmen whilst drying up the runs completely. KL Rahul still stood strong at one end on 57*, with Rishabh Pant having just joined him before rain played spoilsport and ended the day quite early. When asked whether they came in with set plans for Indians, Anderson said:

“To be honest it’s not something that we thought about too much, particularly to him. What we try to do as a group is trying to challenge that fourth stump area, the defense as much as possible. Obviously to get a couple of quick ones like that is really important, especially with Virat being an influential player for them. Always good to get him out early.”

Just 33.4 overs were bowled on Day 2, which probably sets the precedent for the rest of the series considering England’s fickle weather. Anderson was disappointed especially with England being on top when the rain interruption occurred.

“It was very frustrating the way the day finished. Once the cloud comes over here, we’ve seen the last couple of days it can be quite bowler-friendly, very difficult for the batsmen so we wanted to stay out there as long as possible,” he concluded.

India will start the third day’s play on 125/4, trailing England by 58 runs in the first innings. Having scored a fifty, Rahul will be expected to carry on in the company of maverick keeper-batsman Rishabh Pant.