Kohli was going hard at balls outside off-stump which kept me in the game, says James Anderson
Before the start of the five-match Test series between England and India, one battle the fans were waiting for was the one between England fast bowler James Anderson and Indian skipper Virat Kohli.
The duo has faced off against one other in numerous battles in the past and the fast bowler had Kohli's number when India toured England in 2014 where the Indian batsman scored just 135 runs in 10 innings.
Kohli subsequently earned the bragging rights when they faced off in India in 2016 when he smashed over 600 runs against the Poms. So, this series was expected to be the finale between the two and Kohli responded in style by scoring 149 in the first innings.
He was leaving the balls well against Anderson and playing with caution in spite of the dropped catch thanks to David Malan at second slip. He was also seen standing outside the crease to tackle the movement and the England pacer felt that Kohli was trying to go hard at the balls outside the off stump and that ensured he was in the game.
Talking to Sky Sports after play on day two, Anderson said, "Ben Stokes came up to me and said Kohli was batting out of his crease but for me, that doesn’t really change a huge amount. Essentially, I’m just trying to hit that fourth-stump area. He was still going hard at balls outside off-stump which made me feel in the game. I tried the odd inswinger but the breeze was going in the opposite direction, helping the outswinger, so it wasn’t going a huge amount in. I just thought I’d try to keep it as simple as possible."
Anderson will look to see the back of Kohli early in the second innings as it will not only give him an edge over the Indian skipper going into the second Test but also play a vital role in his taking a 1-0 lead in the series.