ENG vs IND 2018: Virat Kohli Is One Of If Not The Best Player In The World Right Now: James Anderson

England pace spearhead James Anderson has admitted he has lost the battle against Virat Kohli this time around after failing to dismiss the India skipper even once in the ongoing England vs India series.

The battle between Anderson and Kohli was one of the biggest talking points in the buildup to the series.

The last time Kohli had visited England, Anderson had blown away the current India skipper. 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.

However, Kohli has certainly come out on top in the second round of battle. He started the series with a splendid knock of 149 and has not looked back since then. So far, the 29-year old has amassed 544 runs in 8 innings without being dismissed even once by Anderson.

And Anderson has now rated Kohli as the best batsman at the moment in the world.

“Well, not great for me – I haven’t got him out! He’s obviously their best player; he’s one of, if not the best player in the world right now. It’s a really exciting challenge for us seam bowlers, we’re in our home conditions and we’re trying to use them as best we can,” he told Sky Sports after the fourth Test.

He further rued the drop catches of Kohli, saying:

“If there is a bit of seam or swing movement, you feel like you’re in the game with him but he’s just not nicked them this series, we’ve put him down a few times which is frustrating. But you’ve got to give him credit, he’s a fantastic player.”

Anderson will have one last chance to finally get the wicket of Kohli when the two teams play the final Test at The Oval from September 7.