England pacer James Anderson rued his side’s sub-standard slip catching that allowed Virat Kohli to get off the hook in the first innings of the opening Test at Edgbaston. He, however, added that the India skipper is not “invincible” and getting him out will open up a big opportunity for the hosts to seal a victory.
It has been an intriguing contest between Test cricket’s second most successful bowler and Kohli, who was dropped on 21 and 51 by Dawid Malan before he went on to score 149 to bail India out of trouble. He was batting on 43 at the end of third day’s play, with the visitors needing another 84 runs to win their maiden Test match at the ground.
“I’ve been encouraged the way I’ve bowled at him in this game so far, found the edge a few times in the first innings – and on another day I could have got him for 20, and then we’re not talking about how brilliant he is,” Anderson told reporters.
“You can’t drop Kohli on 21, because he’s one of the best players in the world and he’ll capitalise on that, which he did. We could be in a much different position now,” he added. “But that’s not the case, we’ve just got to go away and know we can get him. No one is invincible in world cricket. We can get him out, and we’ll be trying to do that in the morning.”
Also Read: Chris Gayle: Virat Kohli’s knock will reignite spirit of teammates
He expressed his discontent with the poor catching saying that constant shuffle of the players has been a major problem in the slips for England.
“It’s an area where we’ve struggled for two years now. The personnel in the team has changed quite a lot, so it’s been difficult to get a set cordon. But we’re just going to have to keep working harder and harder, pushing ourselves to be better, because you can’t keep creating chances and not be taking them.”
The 36-year-old got Kohli out four times in 2014 when the Indian skipper had a turbulent time facing balls just outside the off-stump. He accumulated 134 runs in 10 innings, with the highest score of 39 during that disastrous tour to England. But now seems to have buried the struggle, smashing master-class 149 in the first innings and looks set for another big score in the second to help India record a historic win at Edgbaston.
Asked if he noticed any changes in Kohli’s technique the veteran pacer said that he concentrated only on his bowling.
“I don’t know what adjustments he’s made, I’ve not spoken to him about it. I don’t really look at his technique too much, I just concentrate on where I want the ball to go, where I want it to pitch and do in the air or off the surface,” he said.
Also Read: England vs India: Majestic Kohli keeps India in hunt after dramatic day
Anderson was also fully ecstatic about the success of Test matches, drawing an example from this very encounter, where momentum has exchanged partners at different conjunctures of the game.
“It’s been really exciting, if not a bit frustrating at times. It’s gone to and fro, the standard of cricket has been pretty good. To be a part of it is great, and tomorrow we’ve got a really good chance of winning the game.
“We know it’s going to be 25-30 overs max one way or the other, so we can give it all we can,” Anderson added.
Kohli’s wicket, however, could be the difference between victory and defeats for both the teams, felt the English paced spearhead.
More than likely, yes. If he bats like he did in the first innings, even batting with the tail, it was so hard to keep them on strike. The way he batted with the tail was brilliant. (But) It’s a really exciting place to be because you know we could do something special by winning this,” he said.
“So we’ll go to bed dreaming about getting Kohli out first thing.”