With Virat Kohli there is an extra something because he is so good, says James Anderson

Veteran English pacer James Anderson has been extremely enthusiastic with his celebration, after getting the better of Virat Kohli during the ongoing five-match Test series between the two nations. Anderson celebrated wildly after dismissing Kohli in the first innings of the recently concluded third Test in Headingley. The veteran pacer believes that there is extra emotion involved when facing off against the Team India skipper.

“When I got Kohli out in the first innings in Leeds there was a lot of emotion. It was the same as at Trent Bridge. I guess there is that extra something with him because he is such a good player and their captain as well. You see how much it means to him when his team takes a wicket so I want to show him what it means to us to get him out,” Anderson wrote in his column for The Telegraph.

“For the first 12 balls I bowled at Virat Kohli, he left ten”

The English pacer combined with Ollie Robinson who recorded a five-wicket haul to set up England’s innings win.

“The ultimate aim is to bowl in a partnership and there was a good example of us working together in India’s second innings at Headingley. For the first 12 balls I bowled at Virat Kohli, he left ten. Joe Root was asking me to try and make him play a bit more. I was thinking, ‘I don’t want him to get off to a flyer,'” added Anderson.

“Pressure is on England with series 1-1”

While the English pacer and his teammates will certainly be confident following the triumph, Team India coach Ravi Shastri believes that the pressure is rather on the hosts with the series scoreline reading 1-1.

“If anyone thinks that this Indian team is going to back off, they have another thing coming because at 1-1, we are playing overseas, the pressure is on England. They have to win in their own country. We have done what we had to do with them in India. So, the ball is in their court and we will fight, there’s no question about it,” said Shastri on Times Now Navbharat.

The Team India coach urged his players to forget about the Headingley Test and focus on what they did at Lord’s.

“It’s very easy, you just go back to Lord’s. Just think Lord’s, forget the last one. As simple as that. I know it’s easier said than done but we should remember your good moments as well. Such things happen in the game. England was in the driver’s seat and we snatched victory. In the last Test match, they bowled brilliantly. They caught us on the hop on the very first day of the Test match, they put us on the back foot,” stated Shastri.

“Even though we showed glimpses of a fight in the second innings, I think that first, you know, early dismissal of our players and getting all out for 78 played its part. But this series is wide open,” he added.

It will be interesting to see how the fourth Test plays out, considering the importance from the viewpoint of the final scoreline.