ENG vs IND 2018: James Anderson, Virat Kohli Duel to be Interesting - Sourav Ganguly

Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly has said the duel between James Anderson and Virat Kohli would be interesting to see in the upcoming Test series.

James Anderson and other English bowlers had given Virat Kohli a hard time when the India skipper visited England four years ago.

In 2014, Kohli had endured a torrid time in England, scoring only 134 runs from ten innings, as India lost the series 3-1. He scored 1, 8, 25, 0, 39, 28, 0, 7, 6 and 20 in the five Tests and finished the series with an average of 13.40.

The right-handed batsman was troubled mainly on the off stump line in England, as he ended up edging those deliveries behind the stumps. Virat was caught behind the stumps on six occasions (once by the keeper and five times in the slip cordon).

James Anderson had made current India skipper his bunny, dismissing him four times in six innings.

Virat Kohli made amends for it by scoring 655 runs when England visited India in 2016. However, the whole world is now eager to see how Kohli would handle Anderson and his teammates in the testing conditions.

And Sourav Ganguly also feels the battle would be an intriguing one.

“Duel between Virat Kohli and James Anderson will be interesting to watch,” Ganguly told IndiaTV.

At the same time, Sourav Ganguly issued a word of caution for England bowlers, saying Kohli has improved by leaps and bounds as a batsman in the last four years.

“There’s a lot of difference between the James Anderson of 2014 and the Virat Kohli of 2014. Anderson has grown older, and his pace has decreased. On the other hand, Kohli is going to England as a much-improved batsman. So, it will be a great contest between the two as I feel that Anderson won’t be able to dominate in the same manner as he did in 2014.”

Virat Kohli has come a long way since that disastrous tour. He is arguably the best batsman in the world right now and has already proved himself in Australia and South Africa.

During the tour of Australia in 2014-15, he had slammed four hundred in four Tests.

The India captain has since also scored six double hundreds including four in successive series. He was also in top form in South Africa earlier this year, smashing 871 runs across formats. He was the leading run-scorer in the Test and ODI series.

Ganguly said there is a heat wave in England at present and the conditions could suit India more in the upcoming series.

“Kohli is a class batsman now and plus the conditions in England will favour him. We saw in the limited-overs series that it was pretty sunny in England. So, there will be less swing on offer, and the pitches will be more batting friendly. England bowlers will have to be cautious against Kohli because if he gets set, he will make a big score,” Ganguly said.

The legendary skipper further said that Ajinkya Rahane will be under pressure to deliver this time around.

“Ajinkya Rahane has scored runs in England. He scored a century at Lord’s during India’s last tour. It was a green top, and he hammered a fantastic hundred. However, this time Rahane will be under some pressure because he hasn’t been able to score big in Test cricket for some time has been in and out of the ODI team. So, it will be very important for him to stamp his authority in this series.

“I feel England’s attack is not as lethal as it used to be in 2014. Anderson and Stuart Broad are not the same bowlers. So, I feel Indian batsmen will have a good opportunity to score against this England attack,” he said.