One of the fiercest cricket battles has been between England’s James Anderson and India’s Virat Kohli. In his first tour in 2014, a raw Kohli up against peak Anderson found it hard to cope with away-swingers; however, things turned in 2018, where Kohli managed not to get out to his nemesis and also piled up runs. But fast forward to 2021, things have been neither here nor there. While former England cricketer Michael Vaughan would acknowledge it was an “enthralling” battle, he also mentioned Anderson had the upper hand over the Indian talisman.
“Jimmy often had the wood over Kohli, and with him gone, I thought he’d come out and play with a real flamboyancy this summer, and go on the attack. We haven’t seen much of that from him in England, it’s been more about his defensive strength, skill, touch, technique, and patience. In other parts of the world, he played with unbelievable aggression,” Vaughan wrote in his “The Telegraph” column.
“All of his tours of England were up against James Anderson and Stuart Broad so I was really looking forward to seeing him take on a new England attack. His battles with Anderson, not least at Edgbaston in 2018, were magnificent, a great spectacle. It was a proper heavyweight contest, with two world beaters going up against each other. It was so enthralling,” he added.
Earlier, Kohli announced his retirement from the red-ball format. After his ton in Perth during the first Test in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, his form dipped. “I was in Australia over the winter and watched him have a tricky tour, but I still fully expected to see him in England this summer. Kohli struggled at first in England but was unbelievable in 2018 as captain, when he worked a method out and just left the ball. He was so patient for a player with so much attacking skill,” Vaughan wrote.
“All great players have egos, but maybe Virat’s wasn’t quite as big as we thought. Perhaps family life has mellowed him a bit, and he just wants as normal a life as he possibly can, which is probably going to be in London, where he spends a lot of time now. Those outside that bubble really can’t imagine what it’s like being a Kohli or a , with the pressure of billions of adoring fans on your shoulders,” he added.
