If Virat Kohli can complete the resurrection of his side and find a way to thwart Anderson, it will go down as an example of masterful leadership
India captain Virat Kohli (centre) is ecstatic along with his teammates after England skipper Joe Root was given out after a review during Day Two of the third Test at Trent Bridge recently. Pic/Getty Images
It's rare that cricket fans witness the ultimate bowler versus batsman duel where both players are at their peak. The gold standard for such battles would be Harold Larwood versus Don Bradman, the rivalry that spawned Bodyline.
I've had the good fortune to witness a couple of the best in this category; firstly Dennis Lillee versus Viv Richards and then Shane Warne up against Sachin Tendulkar. As you would expect with players of the highest class, the honours were about those battles with all protagonists experiencing moments of superiority.
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Fans are currently enjoying another tilt of the highest quality in the battle between Jimmy Anderson and Virat Kohli. In 2014, Kohli experienced a run drought in England and Anderson was the undoubted victor in those tussles.
Kohli has found a way
However, on this tour, Kohli, with a little assistance from the butter-fingered English slip fielders, has prevailed. That's not to say that Kohli has dominated Anderson, but he's found a way to survive — and then prosper — which is an achievement against the master swing bowler.
Anderson is the best swing bowler I've seen. For lateness of swing and ability to move it both ways with minimal change of action and consistency over a long career, he is unsurpassed. I witnessed first-hand Bob Massie's incredible debut at Lord's in 1972 where he swung the ball prodigiously both ways to collect a staggering eight wickets in each innings. Massie's performance in that match was a remarkable example of controlled late movement through the air. Anderson achieves that level of proficiency pretty well every time he bowls in England. His run up and action is athletically smooth and for metronomic repetition, Glenn McGrath would be his only challenger.
So, for Kohli to be confronted by a champion bowler in favourable conditions and score two hundred runs in both the matches at Edgbaston and Trent Bridge without conceding his wicket to Anderson, is a mighty achievement. Although Kohli was hampered by injury at Lord's, he still resisted Anderson's challenge, but the impression was much like Bradman in his Bodyline battle with Larwood, that the bowler's presence had a profound effect on his eventual dismissals.
So Bradmanesque
The difference between Kohli and the three aforementioned batsmen is the supporting cast. Bradman — not that he required it — was surrounded by one of Australia's best ever top order line-ups. Richards was the star in a glittering West Indies batting order and Tendulkar had a similar pride of place in a strong Indian line-up.
Up until Trent Bridge, Kohli was fighting a lone hand against a suddenly rampant England attack, but the Indian batsmen showed great resolve in the third Test and emulated their captain's determination to succeed.
Kohli seems to have overcome his back problems and importantly, he found the right words to inspire his fellow batsmen before the series was beyond India's reach. Jimmy Anderson has been just one-of-many challenges that Kohli has faced in this series.
Prior to reaching the UK, India had a glorious opportunity to defeat two heavyweights in England and Australia in consecutive Test series. This would've been a laudable achievement.
Kohli's team, in danger of wilting tamely to England, has unearthed the determination required to produce a rare comeback and emulate the feat of the Bradman led 1936-37 Australian team in winning a five Test series from two-nil down.
The next few weeks will be a defining period in Kohli's captaincy career. He's already shown on many occasions that he's a master batsman; if he can complete the resurrection of this Indian team and find a way to thwart Anderson and his English cohorts, then it will go down as an example of masterful leadership.
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