‘Really exploited his weakness outside off stump’ – James Anderson shares experience bowling to Virat Kohli

England’s bowling stalwart, James Anderson, recently opened up about his experiences bowling to two of India’s batting greats, Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar. The former pacer, who retired from Test cricket in 2024, has dismissed Kohli seven times and Tendulkar nine times in their respective Test careers, more than any other bowler. 

Anderson’s contests with Kohli gained significant attention, especially after the 2014 series in England. The right-handed batter, then still establishing himself as a Test player, suffered an underwhelming time, managing just 134 runs across five Tests. Anderson exposed the weakness of edging deliveries outside off stump and capitalised on it consistently, dismissing the Indian batter four times in that series alone.

“I had some success early against Kohli the first time he came to England (2014). I really exploited his weakness outside off stump and then the next time I played against him (in 2018), he had obviously gone away and worked on that — it was like bowling to a different player,” Anderson told the TalkSport Podcast.

Didn’t feel like there was that sort of shift in dominance: James Anderson

In the 2018 series, Kohli smashed 697 runs, including two tons and three fifties, while Anderson couldn’t dismiss him even once.

“He’d taken his game to a different level. He made it very difficult, not just for me, but for bowlers in general. I think I got him out four or five times in the first series, and then I didn’t get him out in the next series at all,” he added.

On the other hand, the fast bowler, while speaking about Sachin Tendulkar, had a different point of view. Anderson first faced the Little Master when the latter had already become a global icon.

“Against Sachin, for example, I didn’t feel like there was that sort of shift in dominance. With Kohli, there definitely was, and I found him a really difficult player to bowl at because he also had that steely mindset.”

Recently, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) decided to rebrand the Pataudi Trophy to the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, ahead of the upcoming five-match series between the two countries, starting June 20.