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If you want to get an idea about the legacy of James Anderson, here goes a terrific trivia. He has dismissed Sachin Tendulkar nine times, Virat Kohli on seven occasions and Shubman Gill five times. Almost three generations. Currently on his sixth Test tour of India, Anderson was once again back at his miserly best, finishing with 1/30 from 17 overs by stumps on Day 1. Anderson, 41, kept prodding at the Indians, and after being made to wait, was finally rewarded when he had Gill out caught behind for 34.
Anderson’s domination of Gill is becoming quite the thing now. It doesn’t matter where he bowls to Gill – in India or England – he ends up taking his wicket. Anderson has bowled 72 balls to Gill and has conceded just 39 runs against him, 36 of which, impressively, have come via boundaries. But as the math suggests, Gill has been made to stay on his feet by Anderson, not allowing him many singles, Day 1 of the 2nd Test painting a similar picture.
As for Anderson’s dismissals, he first troubled Gill two years ago, making his stumps go cartwheeling in the first Test in Chennai. Gill, coming off his explosive knock of 91 against Australia at the Gabba, had batted well for his half-century, but Anderson’s inswinger was too hot to handle for the India youngster. Gill escaped Anderson in the second and third Tests of the series but was haunted again by Anderson, who dismissed for a three-ball duck in Ahmedabad even as India ended up winning the series 3-1.
How James Anderson has trapped Shubman Gill
The next year, Anderson and Gill came face to face again – this time during the rescheduled fifth Test between India and England from 2021 at Edgbaston, where Jimmy got Gill, once again nicking to slips – not once, but twice in the match. Let’s put a cursory glance that Anderson has got Gill out either bowled or out caught in the slips. That’s four dismissals here, which brings us to our main event, the 2nd Test in Visakhapatnam.
Gill had been struggling for form and consistency, and despite getting a couple of starts previously in the series against South Africa, was gaining his confidence here. Gill, along with Yashasvi Jaiswal played some attacking cricket, but throughout appeared a little uneasy against Anderson. He looked comfortable against spinners, taking boundaries off Tom Hartley and Shoaib Bashir, but the two fours he hit off Anderson came off the outside edge. Gill tried to give Anderson the charge and to a certain extent, it paid off, albeit unconvincingly. However, three balls later, Anderson roared back, this time the edge carrying to Ben Foakes.
Champion bowlers are those who trap the best. And Anderson has got the best. Tendulkar, Kohli and now Gill. Although Gill is yet to reach the same level as the two greats before him, he has a promising future and is expected to carry Indian cricket forward once the transition is complete. But the manner in which he is perishing to the same trap as Tendulkar and Kohli – who had a knack of either getting bowled or caught behind – speaks volumes of Anderson’s class and calibre.
So you see, it’s been one-way traffic in the Anderson vs Gill battle throughout.
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