Watch: James Anderson receives a standing ovation from Dharamsala crowd after reaching a mammoth milestone of 700 wickets
Updated - 09 Mar 2024, 11:13 AM
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James Anderson, on Saturday (March 9), created history by becoming the first-ever fast-bowler to take 700 wickets in Tests. The veteran England pacer achieved the feat in the ongoing fifth Test between India and England at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala.
Overall, James Anderson became only the third bowler to reach 700 wickets in the longest format of the game. The first bowler to achieve the feat was the legendary Shane Warne who retired with 708 wickets. Former Sri Lanka spinner Muttiah Muralitharan was the second bowler to reach the magical figure of 700 wickets in Tests and retired with a staggering 800 wickets.
James Anderson started the match with 698 wickets. He first dismissed Shubman Gill on day two of the Test, castling him for 110 runs. The right-arm pacer achieved the feat of 700 wickets in the first session of day three when he dismissed Kuldeep Yadav.
It was a classic James Anderson delivery that swung away and Kuldeep ended up edging it behind the stumps where Ben Foakes took the easiest of catches. And as soon as he picked up the milestone wicket, the crowd came up with a heartwarming gesture for him. The fans stood up and gave the England great a deserving standing ovation.
Watch:
— Kirkit Expert (@expert42983) March 9, 2024
James Anderson’s Test career in numbers:
James Anderson has been plying his trade for England in international cricket since 2003. He has been one of the most decorated fast bowlers of all time for quite some time now. In 2020, he overtook Australia’s Glenn McGrath to become the fast bowler with the most wickets in red-ball cricket. McGrath retired from Tests with 563 wickets.
In the same year, he also became the first-ever fast-bowler to reach 600 wickets in Tests before overtaking the legendary Anil Kumble (619) wickets to become the third-highest wicket-taker in Tests. At present, he has 700 wickets in 187 matches. The England great has picked up 32 five-wicket hauls in his Test career so far. He needs nine more wickets to go past Shane Warne’s tally of 708 wickets and become the second-highest wicket-taker in Tests.
