Virat Kohli congratulates James Anderson on his 600th Test wicket, calls him one of the best he’s faced

The 38-year-old Anderson reached the historic 600-wicket mark on Tuesday when he dismissed Pakistan skipper Azhar Ali

Image credits: Twitter/@englandcricket

Virat Kohli on Tuesday paid tribute to James Anderson after the English pacer snapped-up his 600th test wicket in the third test against Pakistan on Tuesday. Kohli took to twitter to congratulate Anderson for his landmark achievement.

Congratulations @jimmy9 for this outstanding achievement of 600 wickets. Definitely one of the best bowlers I've faced.

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) August 25, 2020

Kohli and Anderson have been involved in some remarkable tussles over the years with their duels always being a sight for the sore eyes. Kohli struggled against Anderson’s mastery of swing bowling between 2012-14 with the Englishman dismissing the star batsman five times in that period. But the Indian skipper gave a fine response by not getting dismissed even once against Anderson after that. Anderson has also got Kohli’s number thrice in ODI’s.

Anderson reached the historic mark on the final day of the test series by dismissing Pakistan captain Azhar Ali with a trademark out-swinger, skipper Joe Root making no mistakes in the slip cordon.

Scorecard/Clips: https://t.co/fL9aifFjyV#ENGvPAK pic.twitter.com/jjNlyM1Ty6

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) August 25, 2020

Anderson thus created history by becoming the first fast bowler to capture 600-wickets in Test matches. The Right-arm quick is currently fourth in the all-time list, sitting behind Muttiah Muralitharan (800), Shane Warne (708) and Anil Kumble (619).

The Lancashire-born pacer has reached the mark of 600 wickets in 156 Test matches at an outstanding average of 26.8 . Anderson has an astounding 29 five-wicket hauls and 3 ten-wicket hauls in his illustrious career.

Anderson, who turned 38 recently, was in red-hot form in the third test against Pakistan as he accounted for 7 wickets in the rain-affected match. He had picked-up his 29th Five-fer in the first innings with a tremendous display of seam bowling.

This was a fine comeback from the English pace spearhead, having been widely criticized after a disappointing performance in the first test- at least by his lofty standards. Anderson was only able to capture a single wicket in the match from his 28 overs. Some fans went completely overboard and asked for his retirement. 

Anderson’s feat has certainly set the bar very high for fast bowlers and is an ode to his longevity- fast bowlers being notorious for their susceptibility to injuries.