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James Anderson, one of the greatest fast bowlers of all-time, is currently playing for Lancashire county team in the 2025 summer of England after announcing his retirement from international cricket last year. With the highly anticipated India tour to England for the five-match Test series set to begin on June 20, James Anderson gave his take on how it was like for him to compete against some of the greatest players from the Indian cricket team.
While speaking on talkSport podcast, James Anderson compared his battles with Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli, two of the best batters produced in India for the better part of the last 40 years. At one stage of his interview, he was quoted as saying, “I found it more difficult to bowl to [Virat] Kohli than even Sachin Tendulkar”, following which he conceded that Kohli used to dominate after a certain point unlike his former teammate.
The battles between Virat Kohli and James Anderson from 2014 to 2022 were some of the biggest box office showdowns in Test cricket, wherein Anderson had the upper hand initially before Kohli came back very strongly.
Virat Kohli's very competitive, and after that initial success, it was very difficult to bowl against: James Anderson
“Against Sachin, for example, I didn't feel like there was that sort of shift in dominance. With Kohli, there was definitely a shift. Found him a very difficult player to bowl at because he had that steely mindset, wanted to get into a battle. He's very competitive, and after that initial success, it was very difficult to bowl against,” remarked James Anderson on the talkSport podcast, hailing Virat Kohli for his resolve in the midst of adversity.
Watch the video here:
Although, the fans won’t be able to relive the Anderson and Kohli battle in Test cricket with both the players announcing their retirement over the past year.
