Chennai: “Let me know if you want to become a part of our support-staff.” As the curtain fell on the career of one of the greatest of all time, the unique job offer from James Anderson made six years ago came to mind. It was the summer of 2018 and Anderson was suddenly hit by a force that hadn’t really bothered him till then.
Virat Kohli had discovered a way to deal with the legendary English paceman and Anderson, then 35, was caught off-guard. After the immense struggles of 2014, when Anderson had got Kohli four times for virtually nothing, the Indian master had come to England with a plan. Kohli threw the age-old formula of playing late against English swing bowlers out of the window and decided to take guard outside the crease against Anderson and his pace partner Stuart Broad.
The then Indian captain decided that he would play the Anderson delivery before it breaks for the swing, turning the duel into one of the most riveting contests that you can ever witness. In the first Test in Birmingham on a mighty difficult track, Kohli got a magnificent century in the first innings by taking on Anderson. Yes, he offered a couple of difficult chances which weren’t grabbed, but that’s par for the course.
It was an innings of incredible quality and when Anderson was bombarded with questions on Kohli by the Indian journalists, the English pacer looked slightly annoyed. When TOI asked him whether he would look to bowl slightly short to counter Kohli’s new method of taking guard outside the crease, the unique job offer (with a hint of irritation) mentioned above came about. After the complete one-sided nature of the 2014 series when Anderson ruled over Kohli, the Englishman couldn’t get the Indian great out once in the 2018 series.
England won the series 4-1, Anderson had his moments in the sun, but this became one of the most iconic battles ever. The English pacer, who bowled in international cricket for the last time in Lord’s on Friday, had to wait for three more years to get Kohli’s scalp twice in 2021, but by then the honours had been shared. Anderson had Kohli seven times in 25 Tests that they played against each other, but the Englishman has a far better record against Sachin Tendulkar .
The king of swing got the Little Master nine times in the 14 games that they played, yet Anderson feels “Sachin is the batter I have ever bowled to”. The statement seems slightly contradictory because of the success-rate, but it probably boils down to the fact that Anderson couldn’t make Tendulkar change his game. The man with 51 Test hundreds remained the same player, going about his business in the classical way of playing it late, as he won and lost in equal measure against the best swing bowler of the 21st century.
Sachin and Anderson had some fascinating battles over the years, but the one that probably stands out is one of their latter duels at Eden Gardens in 2012. The series was 1-1 at that stage and on a murky Kolkata day, Tendulkar batted brilliantly in the first two sessions, dealing with the swing of Anderson in his beautiful, old-fashioned way. It was in the third session that Anderson made one to swing as late as possible that kissed the outside edge of Sachin’s bat and the catch was completed by the keeper.
Our hearts broke, the match swung, the series turned, but over time we were left to cherish those memories that still makes cricket a beautiful game..
