"Virat Kohli in the early days, you felt you could get him out every ball and then recently like you can’t get him out at all"- James Anderson
England pacer James Anderson spoke about his arch-rival Virat Kohli after playing his final outing against the West Indies at Lord's on Friday, July 12. He used hi example to highlight how up and down he has felt even in an illustrious international career. The 41-year-old played his final game for England in their opening Test victory by an innings and 114 runs against the West Indies.
Anderson and Kohli have formed the rivalry that has defined the generation after the 2010s in Tests. While the England pacer had the upper hand in the first half of their battle, the Indian superstar turned things around in the latter stages of their duels.
Anderson dismissed Kohli five times in Tests between 2012 and 2014 with the ace batter averaging a dismal 8.40 against him. However, the former Indian skipper has been dislodged by the wily pacer only twice since with an extraordinary average of 131.50
Speaking to Sky Sports after his farewell game, Anderson used the Kohli example to sum up how he felt from one series to the next.
"You go so up and down. Some series you feel amazing and some not quite on it and a batter gets the better of you. Playing against Virat Kohli in the early days, you felt you could get him out every ball and then recently like you can’t get him out at all. You feel so inferior," said Anderson.
"I have never felt great at any stage. I know that sounds strange. I have always thought ‘how can I get better for the next series?’. That has helped me play for such a long time," he added.
Overall, James Anderson got Kohli out seven times in Tests with the batter averaging 43.60 against him.
The English pacer completely dominated their battles in ODIs, dismissing Kohli thrice with the batter averaging under nine.
James Anderson hopes to have inspired the next generation to play cricket
James Anderson wished his bowling had inspired kids from the next generation to take up swing bowling.
The champion pacer retires as Test cricket's all-time third-leading wicket-taker behind only Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan with 704 scalps.
"The way I have loved the sport so much, I would love for there to be people out there that have taken up the game because they have watched me bowl. That people have been entertained by watching me bowl and there are kids or grown-ups who have taken up the art of swing bowling because they have seen me bowl. That would make me so happy," said James Anderson as quoted by BBC.
Anderson finished only nine shy of 1,000 international wickets in an incredible 401 games across formats for England. He also finished as the leading wicket-taker among pacers overall and in Tests.