Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar heaped praise on veteran pacer James Anderson for his ability to pick up wickets over the years irrespective of conditions against quality batters. The 41-year-old playing his first game of the series was at his impressive best and picked up the wicket of Shubman Gill on the opening day.
The experienced pacer then demonstrated his experience against Indian batters by playing mind games with double-centurion Yashasvi Jaiswal, causing the youngster to make a poor shot and be removed for 209 runs. The Right-arm pacer concluded with amazing figures of 3/47 in 25 overs on a field that provided little for the bowlers.
Speaking on Espncricinfo, Sanjay Manjrekar hailed James Anderson for his outstanding performances throughout the years, highlighting his superb fast-bowling against Indian batters on Day 1, for which he was rewarded with Shubman Gill’s wicket.
“He is a reminder of the legacy of great fast bowlers we had over the years. He is right at the end of his career, yet, on a pitch that had nothing for him, he had the Indian batters beaten outside off stump. Eventually getting a batter (Gill) caught by the keeper. That is a very rare thing to happen on Indian pitches,” Sanjay Manjrekar said
During the second game at Vizag, England pacer James Anderson became the fifth-oldest player to play in an Indian Test. Anderson has frequently emphasized the red-ball format and continues to perform beyond comprehension. While most players retire in their late 30s, a few have continued to play into their 40s.
The Opposition Batters Will Get The Full Brunt Of The Greatness – Sanjay Manjrekar
Sanjay Manjrekar applauded him for being more economical in batting-friendly circumstances, stating that he has bowled a large number of overs for England against India, and hailed Ben Stokes for expertly exploiting him throughout the opening innings.
“He showed his class and the economy tells you how accurate he is as a bowler. And I love the way England uses him. We think he is not bowling enough these days but he is not playing enough. But when he actually plays, he bowls a lot of overs.
“In the first session, he bowled eight overs and immediately bowled another three post Lunch. That’s a nice way to use a great bowler, wherein when he plays, the opposition batters will get the full brunt of that greatness,” Sanjay Manjrekar added.
James Anderson trapped Shubman Gill and then remained economical, despite the fact that Yashasvi Jaiswal scored at a high rate before picking up Ravichandran Ashwin and Yashasvi Jaiswal. In comparison to Anderson, the rest of England’s bowlers conceded runs at a rate of 3.5 or more per over, he gave away only 1.88 runs per over.
