Anderson highlights Virat Kohli's transformation in Test cricket
England pace spearhead James Anderson opened up on the transformation of Virat Kohli in Test cricket through the years. Anderson, who recently completed 600 Test wickets, reminisced how the Indian captain struggled to score runs and leave balls outside the off stump in the 2014 England tour. He also lauded Kohli for bouncing back in the very next tour to the nation.
Kohli looked a completely different player in 2018: Anderson
"It's always tough bowling at batsmen of that quality. I had some success against him in 2014 and then he came back a completely different player in 2018 and was incredible," said the England speedster on Kohli's transformation.
Kohli's disastrous England tour (2014)
In 2014, Virat Kohli was under the scanner due to his inconsistent run against England. His technique was questioned on several occasions as he the corridor of uncertainty perturbed him. Notably, Kohli's scores in the five-match Test series read as - 1, 8, 25, 0, 39, 28, 0, 7, 6 and 20. However, he smashed four hundreds on the Australian tour that followed.
When King Kohli bounced back in 2018
On the very next tour of England (2018), the Indian skipper silenced the critics by emerging as the best batsman of series by a fair margin. His 149-run knock at Edgbaston was described as one of the greatest in recent times. Although India lost the Test series 1-4, Kohli finished as the leading run-scorer with 593 runs at an astronomical average of 59.30.
Anderson vs Kohli (Edgbaston, 2018)
In the first Test at Edgbaston, Kohli and Anderson put up an fierce battle. The former scored only 18 runs from 74 deliveries against the seamer. Interestingly, 64 of those deliveries were dot balls. Kohli even played a series of maiden overs during the innings.
Kohli seemed a lot more patient in 2018, feels Anderson
Anderson listed out the changes in Kohli's technique, comparing the two tours. "The first time he came over, he might chase it early on and that brought the edge into play," the former added. "He left it a lot better and he was a lot more patient (in 2018). He waited for you to bowl at him and then he could score freely."
England to tour India in 2021
Recently, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly confirmed that India will fulfill the Future Tours Programme (FTP) commitments by hosting England in February 2021. England were due to tour India for three ODIs and as many T20Is in September. However, the white-ball games will now be played as part of England's Test tour scheduled in February-March next year, with the IPL filling the September-November window.
