James Anderson made no attempt to downplay his delight after dismissing Virat Kohli for the ninth time during a dramatic spell of bowling on day two at Trent Bridge. 

Anderson took two wickets in as many deliveries to catalyse a frenzied post-lunch period for the hosts, during which India slumped from 97-1 to 112-4, after Ollie Robinson dismissed Rohit Sharma with the final ball of the morning session.

“Kohli is such a big wicket,” Anderson exclaimed.

“He is influential, so it was important. To bowl the ball exactly where I wanted to, and for him to nick it, the emotion just came out. Getting him out, especially that early, doesn’t happen that often.

“It is always good to get a world class player, I want to challenge myself against the best and he is one of the best, so there was some emotion there, knowing how important it was for the team.”

He revealed that whilst he took pride in his dismissal of the Indian talisman – a wicket which took his Test tally to 619 and made him the joint third most successful Test bowler of all time – his approach to bowling is more about process than emotion or personal battles.

“I try not to focus on individuals, it is important that we as bowlers focus on what we do best and focus on our strengths,” he said.

“In the first spell I was trying to swing the ball and get the edge of the openers. In the second spell I was attacking the stumps with a five-four field. We try to take the individual battles out because we perform best when we focus on ourselves.

“What we do as a group is challenge the fourth stump. They left the ball well in the first session, but we got more consistent with our lines, got them defending and playing the ball as much as possible.”

In particular, the paceman hailed the efforts of teammate Robinson, who stimulated the collapse in the Indian top-order.

The Sussex seamer bounced out Sharma in the morning session, caught by Sam Curran at fine leg, and conceded 31 across a whole-hearted 11 overs in the day. 

“We’ve been impressed with him since he joined the group two years ago,” Anderson said.

“There is always that sort of question mark about whether players will produce on the international stage, but he has got the skills to challenge any batter in the world, and he has the right mental approach, he is a strong character.

“He is consistent, can move the ball both ways, nip it off the seam, can challenge batsmen with pace and has a bouncer with an extra yard. He has everything he needs to play in different conditions.”

With three days remaining in the Test, Anderson concluded by expressing his excitement for the pending battle with Rishabh Pant, who looked characteristically aggressive against the swing bowler.

“We got a taste of what he was planning to do, using his feet on the third ball,” Anderson laughed.

“He is aggressive, thinks outside the box, and plays the odd shot out of the ordinary. We have to accept that he is a fantastic player, but we have to keep bowling our best ball.”

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Watch history unfold at Trent Bridge on August 19th when our historic venue hosts Royal London Cup Final. 

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