England tempo legend James Anderson has confronted a few of the all-time nice batters in his illustrious profession, however on the subject of giving him the hardest time, his reply was easy, and it’s none apart from India’s modern-era legend Virat Kohli.
James Anderson admitted that when he first bowled to Virat Kohli throughout India’s 2014 tour of England, he troubled him quite a bit. At the moment, Kohli was nonetheless discovering his ft in powerful English situations and struggled exterior the off-stump.
James Anderson picks Virat Kohli over Sachin Tendulkar because the hardest batter he has bowled to
The English seamer made the many of the younger Kohli’s weak point and dismissed him 5 instances in that collection. Properly, the following time Kohli got here to England, Anderson anticipated an identical dominance, however he received to face an entire completely different model of the Indian batting icon.
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The dashing right-hander had remodeled his recreation so utterly that Anderson might barely get previous him. The identical quick bowler who troubled him quite a bit discovered it powerful to unsettle the batter. Notably, in 36 innings towards Anderson, Kohli scored 305 runs at a mean of 43.57.
Anderson managed to dismiss Kohli 7 instances in his Check profession. Their face-offs have been filled with depth, however there was at all times respect between them. And now the legendary England bowler put Kohli above the batting Sachin Tendulkar. Anderson discovered Kohli a harder batter to bowl to than Tendulkar.
Virat Kohli was completely completely different participant after 2014 tour: James Anderson
James Anderson stated on the talkSPORT Cricket Podcast, “I feel I had some success early towards Kohli. The primary time he got here to England, I feel it was 2014, you realize I actually exploited—he had a weak point exterior of stump—actually exploited that.
After which the following time I performed towards him, he’d clearly gone away and labored on that, and it was like bowling at a unique participant. He’d actually taken his recreation to a unique stage, making it very tough for not simply me, however for the bowlers normally.”
The Englishman stated that Kohli’s aggressive hearth, sharp focus, and tactical brilliance made him virtually not possible to outsmart. He even in contrast this shift in dominance to Sachin Tendulkar, saying nobody modified their recreation towards him as dramatically as Kohli.
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James Anderson says Virat Kohli remodeled like nobody else
Anderson additional defined, “I feel I received him out possibly 4 or 5 instances the primary collection after which did not get him out within the subsequent collection I performed towards him. I did not really feel like there was that type of shift in dominance towards Sachin. I feel with Kohli there was undoubtedly a shift.
And yeah, I discovered him a extremely tough participant to bowl at as a result of he additionally had that type of steely mindset. He wished to get right into a battle; he wished to, you realize, he is very aggressive, and yeah, after that, for preliminary success, it was fairly tough to go up towards.”
Even the legendary quick bowler felt that bowling to Kohli was completely different from bowling to Sachin. Kohli confirmed extra emotion on the sphere, which made their battles extra intense. Anderson usually needed to focus solely on Kohli’s batting, not his persona, however it was powerful. Anderson stated that his matchups with Virat Kohli have been fierier than with Sachin. He additionally stated that is the hardest batter he bowled to within the Fab 4.
James Anderson stated “Virat Kohli is the hardest batter I’ve bowled to within the Fab 4. [TalkSport podcast] pic.twitter.com/wdjBWOqDKg
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) June 16, 2025
