James Anderson first to take 100 Test wickets at Lord’s

Image Courtesy: Twitter/@ICC

England cricketer James Anderson on Sunday became only the second player to take most Test wickets at a single ground. He also became the first player to take 100 wickets at Lord’s during Day four of the second Test against India. 

Anderson achieved the feat when he dismissed Murali Vijay for a duck in India’s second innings. It was also his 550th wicket in Test cricket. 

He joins the elite league of bowlers to take most wickets at a single ground, which is topped by former Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan. Muralitharan has taken 166 wickets at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo, 117 wickets at Asgiriya Stadium in Kandy and 111 wickets at Galle International Stadium. 

Anderson, who has taken most number of Test wickets for England (551), got the better of Murali Vijay in the second over of India’s second innings. He got a pitched-up delivery to jack back in and Vijay couldn’t help but defend. A huge bat and pad gap allowed the ball to take an inside edge to wicket-keeper Jonny Bairstow, who took a comfortable catch. 

The right-arm pacer continued to trouble the Indian batsmen with his probing swing and pace. He then trapped KL Rahul plumb on the front with an angling delivery to knock India off balance. 

Earlier, in the first innings, Anderson had wrecked the Indian batting line-up to finish with figures of 5/20. It was his sixth five-wicket-haul at the home of cricket and his 26th overall in Test cricket.