ENG vs IND 2018: Sanjay Manjrekar Gives Virat Kohli Tips On How To Tackle James Anderson

With Virat Kohli gearing up for another contest with his old nemesis James Anderson, former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar has a word of advise for the India skipper.

The whole world is waiting desperately to see Kohli and Anderson squaring against each other once again.  The last time Kohli had visited England, Anderson had given him a hard time.

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).

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

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 in the testing conditions.

And before the series gets underway, Manjrekar gave Kohli some tips on how to do well in the English conditions.

“The moment Virat Kohli comes in and no matter if Broad has got three wickets in the last over, they will give the ball to Jimmy Anderson. Because with a great batsman, you need to get them out early. And they try to revive all his nightmares for his last trip in 2014,” Manjrekar told ESPNcricinfo.

Manjrekar reckons that Anderson will be going with his usual outside-off deliveries for Kohli.

“The field will also be an elaborate one with maybe two or even three slips and a gully. Also take men out and place in the covers and entice him to play those cover drives which is a dangerous shot.  I can actually see Anderson not giving a single ball to Virat Kohli to play bat and ball.”

“Those deliveries are expected to be all outside the off stumps. And Kohli will have no choice but to leave all those balls unless of course, he plays the square drive which is a safer option. But Virat Kohli, he loves to play the cover drive and it is a risky option,” Manjrekar added.

Manjrekar then advised Kohli, saying:

“My advice would be to keep leaving all those balls outside off. Wait for that one ball to come in and he has got to be prepared in his mind to play that ball. He had made that mistake in South Africa against Vernon Philander where he kept leaving the balls but the front foot went a bit too across the ball. Be mindful of that. Cover that off stump. But also in your mind tell yourself that there could be that brilliant Anderson delivery coming back in. And so he can’t afford that second movement come in. If it’s an inswinger wait for the ball, open your toe and face the ball.”

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.  The 29-year old would be desperate to prove himself in England this time around.