James Anderson had questioned Virat Kohli’s batting ability by suggesting that his flaws can’t be visible in home conditions. (Source: Reuters)
Jimmy Anderson deserved the ‘welcome’ he received from the Indian players upon his arrival at the crease on Monday morning. His dig at Virat Kohli the evening before was unbecoming of the great bowler that he is. “I just think any technical deficiencies he has got aren’t in play out here. The wickets just take that out of the equation.” Anderson was talking about someone who had just completed his third double hundred in 2016.
Kohli had a torrid time in England two years ago, where he scored 134 runs at 13.40 in five Tests. Anderson dismissed him four times. But back then, Kohli was a callow longer-format batsman. A lot has changed since.
A comparative study between Kohli and Anderson would be relevant here. In Australia, the India captain has scored 992 runs, including five hundreds, at 62.00 in nine Tests. In South Africa, his average is 68.00 in two Tests and in New Zealand he boasts of an average of 71.33. Kohli scored his maiden Test double century in West Indies earlier this year. He has reached three-figures everywhere outside Asia except England.
Now compare this with Anderson’s bowling performance Down Under. He has a tally of 43 wickets in 13 Tests at 38.44, way above his career average of 28.50. In South Africa, his average is close to 40 – 39.92. The majority — 296 — of his 467 Test wickets so far have been taken in England where the ground-staff sometimes becomes oblivious to lawn mowers – ask the Indian players about the Rose Bowl and Old Trafford in 2014 and they will confirm this.
This article by no means intends to denigrate a master exponent of swing bowling but Anderson should have been more respectful about a match-winner; the on-field rivalry notwithstanding. It’s wrong to revisit 2014 every time Kohli plays against England. As he said before the ongoing series, it was just a “bad phase” and the slump could have happened against any team. The next England tour would be a test for Kohli alright but the way he has been going at the moment, it would be shabby not to acknowledge his mastery.
And it would be grossly unfair to call this Indian team a spin-track bully. This is their fifth Test series win on the bounce and a couple of those victories have been achieved on the ‘unfriendly’ surfaces in Sri Lanka and the Caribbean. It’s important to live in the present. To question this side’s ability in England, Australia and South Africa would be hypothetical.
Being equally comfortable both in home and away falls into great teams’ domain – Bradman’s Invincibles, Clive Lloyd’s West Indies and Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting’s Australia, and the list ends there.
England’s record in Asia of late is dismal. They lost 2-0 against Pakistan in UAE last year before conceding a Test even to Bangladesh two months ago. They are getting a hiding in India at the moment on good pitches.
Australia have lost their last eight Tests in Asia. Still India is called a poor traveller; maybe out of jealousy of the BCCI’s cricketing might. The naysayers should put things in perspective and stand up and applaud Kohli’s India.
India didn’t manage the transition very well following the departure of its legends. But even in adversity, no Indian player had chickened out mid-tour; fearful of extreme pace or prodigious swing.
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