English experienced pacer James Anderson, who led in-charge to bundle out the Indian innings for just 107 on day 2 of the ongoing rain-marred second Test at Lord’s, said that the English batsmen would also bundle out in the same fashion if they batted that time.
During the rain-interrupted day 2 of the ongoing Lord’s Test, Anderson claimed a five-wicket haul as he bowled his best bowling figure in a Test innings against India with 13.2-5-20-5. None of the Indian batsmen reached the 30-run mark in that innings as Ravichandran Ashwin was the highest scorer with 29 and India was bundled out for just 107 runs.
At the end of the day, Anderson joked, “If we were bowling at our batsmen, we’d have the better of them (too). Some days it hoops round – they’ve been quite rare actually, the days we’ve had like that, move through the air as much as that – but for us, with the experience we’ve had of bowling on flat decks and the ball doing nothing, when you get the opportunity like that you lick your lips and try to show off your skills.”
Also read: Stats of day 2 of the second Test between England and India at Lord’s
While the high experienced English pacer claimed that their bowling was too accurate in the bowling friendly condition, he also believes that any cricket team would struggle in that tough condition.
Anderson said, “To be honest, I think if we bowled like that, with those conditions, we’d bowl most teams in the world out – because we were that good. We hardly bowled any bad balls, didn’t give them much to hit at all – and when you build pressure like that all day, no matter who you are around the world, it is difficult. We exploit those conditions as well as anyone in the world. I don’t think it’s just the Indian batsmen that would have struggled.”
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Anderson was totally in the lethal form on the second day. Indian skipper and the latest no.1 Test batsman Virat Kohli also struggled to play his lethal deliveries but the no.1 Test bowler didn’t find an edge from his bat. However, the right-arm pacer has enjoyed the top-class contest.
Talking about that, Anderson said, “I was thinking why can’t he edge them like everyone else? I’ve really enjoyed the contest between myself and him. He’s No 1 in the world for a reason. For me, I love playing against the best players in the world, testing yourself and seeing whether you can get the better of them.
“It’s a really thrilling thing to be a part of and unfortunately I’ve not got the better of him yet, but I’ll continue to try my hardest throughout the rest of the series.”
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However, the English pacer Chris Woakes succeeded on his trick to dismiss Virat Kohli for 23 runs. It is his comeback match in the international cricket after recovering from the injury but he was totally under control and continued his positive rhythm as his bowling figure was 6-2-19-2.
Anderson has felt delightful from Woakes’ performance in that innings. He said on it, “We were delighted for Chris. He’s a world-class performer on his day. We’ve seen it before, all around the world, one-day cricket, Test match cricket – he’s a brilliant bowler, a brilliant all-rounder, and someone who can do a fantastic job for this team. First game back can always be tricky, especially when you’ve got world-class batsmen to come up against – but he handled the task brilliantly.”
