England fast bowler James Anderson has said that winning the Test series in India during the 2012 tour is one of best moments of his illustrious career playing for the country and is on par with his best Ashes series against the arch-rivals Australia.
Anderson was hailed as the "difference between the two sides" by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the then Indian Captain, for his match-defining spells during the course of the 4-Test series. Anderson, alongside Alastair Cook, Kevin Pietersen, Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar, played crucial roles in England winning their first series in India since 1984.
Anderson recently expressed the sentiment and was quoted saying, “We have played against South Africa when they were number one in the world and that was a good test, and India is exactly the same for me, 2012 was one of the best series I have ever played in India. As a seam bowler, you go to India and everyone says that the spinners will take wickets, so you want to prove to people that you can succeed in those conditions."
“That was a really proud series of my career. You always want to play against the best and do well against the best. That always inspires me to try and push myself,”
Looking forward to the upcoming series against Virat Kohli's men, Anderson said, “I think there has always been a good healthy rivalry between India and England. Every series I have played in, whether it was one-day or Test cricket, it has always been really competitive and a really high standard of cricket, For me, for an Englishman, the Ashes is the pinnacle. If you ask the Australians, they will probably say the same (laughs). It is the biggest series in Test cricket, the one that you look forward to the most and the one that you want to win at any cost,”
Emphasising that the onus would be on England’s senior players, like him, to stand up and perform against India, Anderson said, “This summer we have felt that we have a bigger responsibility to the team in putting in good performances. We are the senior players. I have a good partnership with Stuart Broad and we need to show that in our responsibilities because we are the senior players, So that’s exactly how we will prepare for this series. We want to go into this series in as good a form as possible and be as fit as possible because we know that if we play well, we have a good chance of winning."
Anderson, having just recovered from his shoulder issues, has been extremely determined to get his preparation for the series in order. He wants to be the decisive factor that everyone thinks he will be.
“My preparation has been really good. I have done a lot of work in the gym and have been bowling a lot in the last couple of weeks to try and get my fitness up. There is also a championship game against Yorkshire this weekend and so yes, I am excited to get back to playing. It has been a while since the last Test against Pakistan, so I am feeling refreshed and looking to go again,”
“Even at home, the conditions are going to be different in every game you play. So you have to adapt to those conditions as quickly as possible. We have seen with Kuldeep Yadav that there is still an element of surprise, at least in white ball cricket. It is not all about watching the footage. It is also about who adapts to those conditions the best, who is the most patient in Test cricket, who is the most skilful. And generally, people who are more patient and skilful are on top in the end,”
(Inputs from SPORTSTAR Live)
