James Anderson's top 3 spells vs India in Tests
One of the finest pacemen to have graced the game of cricket, James Anderson celebrated his 41st birthday on Sunday (July 30), and wishes kept pouring in from all across the globe.
Taking to their social media platforms, former cricketers and Anderson's countrymen lauded the veteran cricketer for what he has done for the nation. Anderson, a master of reverse swing, is currently taking part in the fifth and final Ashes Test against Australia.
While we have seen a few club-level bowlers or domestic players getting a chance to bowl with the red cherry on their 41st birthday, not many would have dreamt of doing so against Australia in the Ashes on their 41st birthday.
The longevity of Anderson makes him the bowler he is today. While players like Dale Steyn and Mitchell Johnson were more destructive on their day, Anderson's ability to consistently hit the right areas day in and day out makes him such a potent option for England even at this age.
Making his Test debut way back in 2003, the Englishman evolved into a match-winner for England, and his skill sets and his ability to swing both the new ball and the old ball made him the lynchpin of the Three Lions' Test attack.
Even on docile pitches in India, Anderson made the ball talk and relied on reverse swing to give him the desired results. In the 2021 tour of India, he produced two magical deliveries with the old ball that left Shubman Gill and Ajinkya Rahane scratching their heads.
Over the years, Anderson has been a nightmare for several Indian batters. In 35 Tests against India, he has bagged 139 wickets at an impressive average of 24.89. While it remains to be seen whether he travels to India early next year for the Test series, it doesn't take away the fact that he remains one of the finest pacemen of all time.
With that said, let us have a look at 3 top spells from James Anderson against India in Tests:
# 5/53 at the Rose Bowl, Southampton in 2014
Back in 2014, James Anderson produced a match-winning performance against India on a relatively docile wicket in Southampton. Batting first, England posted a mammoth score of 569 riding on centuries from Gary Ballance and Ian Bell.
Anderson provided an early breakthrough for England when Dhawan nicked an away swinger straight to the slip cordon. He kept bowling in the right channels and then managed to nick out Virat Kohli who was looking in good touch.
Just when MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja were getting India back on track with a solid partnership, it was Anderson who broke through and sent back Jadeja. He also accounted for Dhoni later in the innings as the visitors were bowled out for 330.
Set an improbable target of 445 to chase in the fourth innings, the Indian top order faltered big time losing wickets at regular intervals. They were eventually skittled out for 178, with Anderson bagging a couple.
# 4/40 at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai in 2006
The blonde spike-haired James Anderson came into the international reckoning back in 2003 and established himself as an integral part of the team in a couple of years.
In 2006, when Anderson produced a brilliant spell against India at the Wankhede Stadium. Riding on a brilliant century from captain Andrew Strauss, England posted a competitive score of 400 in their first innings.
After losing the openers early, it was Anderson who first produced a beauty to remove Sachin Tendulkar before nicking out Dravid after he had just gone past the fifty mark. He then came strongly in his second spell to wipe out the tail which included the likes of Harbhajan Singh and Munaf Patel. India stormed back into the game, bowling out England for just 191 in the second essay.
A target of 313 looked achievable but what transpired from the English bowlers in the next four hours left the Indian batters dazed and perplexed. Andrew Flintoff and Shaun Udal ran through the Indian batting, bagging seven wickets between them while Anderson also chipped in with a couple.
# 5/20 at Lord's, London in 2018
Back in 2018, James Anderson produced a magical spell against India at the Home of Cricket and played an instrumental role in England winning the game by an innings and 159 runs.
While it was favourable conditions for the faster bowlers but it was Anderson who made a significant impact, finishing with exceptional figures of 5/20 in just 13.2 overs. Under overcast conditions, the ball was hooping around and none of the Indian batters were able to put on some resilience. He castled Murali Vijay with a beautiful in-dipper before nicking out KL Rahul soon after.
Just when Ajinkya Rahane looked like getting India out of the hole, it was the Swing Master again who produced a Jaffa to induce an outside edge of Rahane's bat. He eventually finished with a couple more including the likes of Ishant Sharma and Kuldeep Yadav as India were skittled out for just 107 runs.
Riding on a brilliant century from Chris Woakes, England gained a sizeable lead before Anderson and Broad did the trick again for England in the second innings. They bagged four apiece as the visitors were again bundled out for just 130.