James Anderson attributes Pujara's run out to the early pressure created from both ends

England’s star bowler of the first innings of the second Test match against India at Lord’s and arguably of the last decade, James Anderson is no stranger to using his words to deliver blows to the opposition. He has made news frequently over the past few months for his opinion on how Virat Kohli is “desperate” to score runs on the tour and how he had the upper hand against him this time around also as his technical deficiencies had been masked by “flat pitches” in India.

Although Kohli scored 200 runs in the first Test match, his battle with Anderson was very intense, the pacer was arguably prevailing in the much-anticipated confrontation. The Indian skipper presented him with two chances in the slips and awkwardly played and left deliveries outside the off-stump. The second Test match also brought this same weakness to the fore and although Anderson didn’t get Kohli out, he was England’s best bowler by a mile, racking up 5/20 in what he admitted were “seam-friendly conditions”.

We coped really well with the breaks

England wrested control of the match in the first 8.3 overs itself, accounting for 3 Indian batsmen, with the most deflating dismissal being the run out of Cheteshwar Pujara, sandwiched between 15 minutes of play and a 5-minute rain break. The Indian batsmen had left the field only to be recalled as soon as they crossed the ropes, as the England team stood their ground, recognizing the perfect opportunity to make the most of the conditions and the pitch.

“I did not want to go off (for the rain break) as I felt in really good rhythm. We were on top with two early wickets and there were dark black clouds coming from that direction all day. Then we did get a deluge. It’s frustrating when you are on top, you want to stay out there and keep that pressure on the opposition,” Anderson said after the end of day’s play.

“You feel like it is a chance for them to regroup and come out to play better. But we coped with that long break really well, and when we came back out, we stuck to our task brilliantly.”

“It (the mix up) can happen when we were building pressure, both me and Stuart (Broad) bowling well from both ends, does create pressure. It was just a mix-up, a yes and then a no, and then, of course, a massive downpour, which would not have made Pujara feel any better,” he added.

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