You've got to credit Virat Kohli for the way he has played, says James Anderson

James Anderson, the veteran English seamer who had a psychological battle with Indian captain Virat Kohli ahead of the ongoing series, conceded that he did not win the battle himself as he has failed to get him out in this series so far. The veteran is currently ranked the No.1 bowler in Tests while Kohli is the No.1 batsman in the longest format and since the latter had fallen to the seamer four times in 2014, he kept on targeting the Indian skipper to build pressure on him before the high-octane series.

Kohli has so far amassed 544 runs in the series from eight innings to remain the top scorer by far. He has scored two centuries and three half-centuries in the series and on two occasions he has slammed 200 runs in a single Test, one of which was in a winning cause.

Speaking on his rivalry with Kohli in the series, Anderson was quoted by Sky Sports as saying, “Well, not great for me – I haven’t got him out! He’s obviously their best player, he’s one of, if not the best player in the world right now. It’s a really exciting challenge for us seam bowlers, we’re in our home conditions and we’re trying to use them as best we can.”

He didn’t nick them this series

James Anderson, who is just five wickets short of becoming the highest wicket-taking pacer in Tests surpassing Australian legend Glenn Mcgrath, had drawn criticism over his remarks on Kohli ahead of the Test series. The 36-year-old bowler had said Kohli was lying by saying that his own scores didn’t matter much in the series. However, he also gave him the credit for the way he tackled the bowlers.

“If there is a bit of seam or swing movement, you feel like you’re in the game with him but he’s just not nicked them this series, we’ve put him down a few times which is frustrating. But you’ve got to give him credit, he’s a fantastic player,” Anderson added.

India lost the Test in Southampton by 60 runs despite a couple of fighting fifties from Kohli and vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane and squandered the five-match series. They will now play the fifth and the final Test at the Oval from September 7 hoping to salvage some pride.

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