England fast-bowler James Anderson's dismissal of KL Rahul took him past Anil Kumble's 619 wickets in Test cricket.
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Virat Kohli is one of the very few batsmen against whom bowlers shiver at the very prospect of facing off. Dismissing Kohli for a low score is considered a boon from God, with a duck which is often the case for some of the best batsmen in world cricket, an extremely rare sight. However, English pacer James Anderson has managed to register the unique milestone on two occasions, making him the first-ever bowler to record the feat. Anderson achieved this feat on two occasions. The first instance was in Manchester (2014) with the second witnessed in the ongoing opening Test match against India, in Nottingham.
Anderson further recorded another massive milestone during the encounter in Nottingham. The 39-year-old became the third-highest wicket-taker in the history of Test cricket on Day 3, after accounting for the dismissal of KL Rahul who looked confident having scored a half-century. Anderson further sent Shardul Thakur back to the pavilion, increasing his tally of wickets in the longest format to 621. The 39-year-old had earlier become the third joint-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket, alongside legendary Indian spinner Anil Kumble (619) after accounting for Kohli’s dismissal.
Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan leads the charts, having accounted for 800 dismissals. Australian cricketer Shane Warne is placed on the second spot in the list, with 708 wickets to his credit. Glenn McGrath rounds off the top five list, with Kumble now placed fourth having accounted for 563 wickets.
The Team India skipper’s dismissal marked the first time that Anderson had managed to dismiss the Team India skipper since 2014. He is one of the very few bowlers trailing Kiwi pacer Tim Southee in the list of bowlers that have dismissed the Indian cricketer the most, with nine wickets. Southee has 10. Anderson further enjoys the unique distinction of having affected the most Test dismissals caught for a duck (59), after overtaking McGrath (58). The English pacer has also dismissed the most batters for ducks (106) in the longest format of the game.
The 39-year-old enjoys a fine record against Kohli as evident from the numbers. However, his sensational impact extends well beyond the Team India skipper to other top Indian batsmen. Anderson dismissed Sachin Tendulkar on 12 occasions in international cricket (Joint most), with wicket-keeper batsman MS Dhoni sent back to the pavilion on 10 instances (Joint third-most). Gautam Gambhir is considered a player with the ability to grind down the opposition with his grit and determination. However, Anderson managed to get the better of him on 9 occasions, showcasing his mastery over the craft.
Cheteshwar Pujara is hailed by one and all for having a rock-solid defence, with the batsman termed as the cricketer around whom the Indian Test batting line-up revolves. Anderson has managed to breach the Indian cricketer’s frontiers on eight occasions, which is the second-highest tally of dismissals recorded by a bowler in the longest format. Nathan Lyon leads the charts with 10 wickets. Pat Cummins is placed third with 7 dismissals.
One of the major factors behind the English cricketer’s dominance is sheer love for the game, with the pacer expressing a desire to play in his 40s. Most pace bowlers look to reduce the workload and their involvement in international cricket as they approach the late 30s. However, Anderson has no plans to slow down.
“I still love turning up every day at training, putting in the hard yards and being in the dressing room with the lads trying to forge a win for England. That’s all I’ve really ever bothered about and what I’ll keep trying to do. For a bowler to play this amount of games, I don’t know what the word is, but it’s a bit mind-blowing to me. I just absolutely love Test cricket, I’ve got a huge passion for it. Growing up, all I wanted to do is play Test cricket for England and I’m honoured I’ve been able to do it for this long,” said Anderson in an interaction with ICC.
“I am sure I will have to be a little bit wise about which games I play and which I don’t. That’s something for the selectors, coach, captain and the medical team to help with as well. It’s not just me saying I will play this one and not that one. We want to play in the best team but be careful of managing workloads. We will try and discuss what is best for the team. People talk about being at the peak of your sport but I’m not sure whether I’ve peaked yet or not. I am getting better. I feel I’m still learning stuff about the game. I’m getting better at figuring out batsmen and reading pitches, and better at assessing situations and what type of bowling is required to counter them. I’m still growing as a cricketer, so I think I have a few years left in me yet,” he added.
Anderson will be eager to spearhead the English challenge in the ongoing edition of the World Test Championship (WTC) and lead them on to a triumph.
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