Not MS Dhoni!! James Anderson names the greatest finisher and white-ball batsman
Published - 27 Aug 2024, 01:15 PM | Updated - 28 Aug 2024, 11:11 AM
Virat Kohli has been praised by James Anderson once again. The two legendary cricketers have crossed paths in international cricket several times with both having the edge over the other at different times in their careers.
Kohli struggled in his first tour to England in 2014 when he was dismissed by James Anderson several times.
Overall Anderson has dismissed Kohli seven times in Test career in 170 eliveries. Kohli has scored 305 runs against him hitting him for 39 fours and maintaining a strike rate of 42.95 in Test cricket.
Former England pacer James Anderson was speaking on the 'Tailenders Podcast' when he was asked about Indian batter Virat Kohli, particularly after his Player of the Match performance in the T20 World Cup 2024 triumph against South Africa, in Barbados.
In reply, Anderson praised Kohli for his incredible record chasing, calling him the greatest batter while chasing a game.
"His record chasing is absolutely phenomenal. I don't know if there's been a better batter in the history of the game while batting second or chasing down scores" said Anderson.
"In the 50-over format in particular, the number of hundreds he has scored in the second innings, chasing down scores is ridiculous," the 42-year-old fast bowler said praising his qualities as a finisher.
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Virat Kohli vs James Anderson In Tests: 7 Dismissals, In ODIs, 3
Anderson opined that Kohli enjoys batting in such high-pressure situations while chasing because of his strong mentality and high self-belief.
Meanwhile, James Anderson retired from international cricket after the first Test against West Indies.
He took four wickets in his last Test and ended with 704 Test wickets, the most by an England bowler in Test cricket. He also has 269 ODI wickets. England won the Test series against West Indies 3-0 and gave Anderson a memorable send-off.
Immediately after his retirement, he joined the England Test team as the mentor and the bowling coach for that particular series.
As the 41-year-old veteran called time on his illustrious 21-year-long career, Anderson recalled his battles with star India batter Virat Kohli.
Speaking about the ups and downs of his career, the Lancashire-born cricketer said that in the early days of Kohli’s career, he felt that he could get him out every ball.
However, further speaking ahead, Anderson said that he became so hard to dismiss after the batter began dominating world cricket.
"You go so up and down. Some series you feel amazing and some not quite on it and a batter gets the better of you. Playing against Virat Kohli in the early days, you felt you could get him out every ball, and then recently like you can’t get him out at all. You feel so inferior," James Anderson told Sky Sports.
Anderson dismissed Virat Kohli four times in the 2014 series. Between 2016, to 2018 he could not dismiss him even once.
Kohli ruled the roost against him in the meantime scoring heaps of runs against England.
he could only score 134 runs from ten innings at an average of 13.40 with a highest score of 39 in the 2014 tour.
In the 2018 tour, he finished as the highest run-scorer in the series finishing with 593 runs to his name from ten innings at an average of 59.30 with two hundreds and three fifties. After 2014, Anderson dismissed Kohli twice in 2021.
