James Anderson rates recent battle with Virat Kohli as his best ever

The England-India series delivered riveting contests before it was postponed after the fourth Test due to the COVID-19 scare. The series was evenly fought and both teams gave their all. India started the series with a win before England bounced back to level the series. India again won the fourth Test to take an unassailable lead. One of the highlights of the series was the battle between Virat Kohli and James Anderson. Kohli had dominated Anderson in his last visit to the UK but the veteran seamer was all over Kohli in the recent series, dismissing him twice. Talking about his battle with the Indian skipper, James Anderson said this was his best contest with Virat Kohli so far.

"This summer was probably my favourite contest with Virat. We’ve had a few good battles over the years, both in England and India, but this year has certainly my favourite,” Anderson told Fox Cricket’s Road to the Ashes podcast.

“I got him out a few times but also he got some runs as well, and we had a battle on the field where there was definitely mutual respect. It was in a nice manner.

There were few heated exchanges between Kohli and Anderson throughout the series but the senior bowler said it was all on the field and both players have great respect for each other. “Obviously, we were going against each other, but it was in a well-spirited way. So I really enjoyed that,” he added.

Anderson’s next assignment will be against Australia in Ashes. The veteran bowler said he is eyeing the wicket of Australia’s main man - Steve Smith. "As a bowler you always look at the best player, and for me over the last three, four or five years, Steve Smith's been Australia's best player," he said.

"He's been the one they rely on for their volume of runs, obviously supported by guys around him like David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne recently. But he's been their go-to in the last few years, so he'll be the one that we will be keen to get out early,” he added.