Glenn McGrath is amazed by James Anderson's skills and mental toughness

Yesterday, England won the fifth and final Test against India at Kennington Oval in London by 118 runs to finish the five-match series 4-1. The Three Lions had more reasons to cheer for the fact that James Anderson, one of their premier fast-bowlers, became the most successful pacemen in Test cricket. He is currently the leading speedster in Test cricket with 564 wickets in 143 matches.

The 36-year-old surpassed legendary fast-bowler Glenn McGrath, who has 563 wickets in 124 matches in a career, which spanned 14 years till 2007. Prior to the match, the Lancashire-born pacer needed five wickets to surpass the former Australian pacer. He got rid of the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane in the first innings to inch closer to The Pigeon.

Anderson weaves his magic

Thereafter, the seasoned campaigner equalled McGrath with the couple of quick wickets of Shikhar Dhawan and Pujara that also put the Brits on the driver’s seat. He had to wait for 91 more overs in order to overtake McGrath’s tally. Anderson picked the last wicket of the Test series in the form of Mohammed Shami by castling him with an inswinging delivery.

He also ended as the leading wicket-taker of the series with 24 wickets at an incredible average of 18.12. His best figures of 5/20 came in the first innings of the second Test match at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground- The Home of Cricket. In the meantime, McGrath seemed overwhelmed after Anderson toppled him to become the fourth highest wicket-taker in the format.

He took to Instagram, uploaded Anderson’s picture and wrote, “Congratulations to @jimmya9 on becoming the most successful fast bowler in the history of the game. It takes dedication, commitment, hard work, skill & mental toughness to achieve what you have. Very well deserved mate. Congrats again & well done. Enjoy. #cricket #ENGvIND #fastbowlingcartel.”

Here is McGrath’s post

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