When James Anderson clean bowled Mohammad Shami to wrap up the Indian second innings in the Oval Test, England won the match by 118 runs and the series 4-1. However, with that wicket, James Anderson also created history.

Anderson, who was the first England bowler to pick up 500 wickets, broke Glenn McGrath’s record of 563 Test wickets, to become the highest wicket-taking fast bowler of all time and reached the number four spot in all-time Test wicket-takers’ list.

Anderson is now behind Anil Kumble (619 wickets), Shane Warne (708) and Muttiah Muralitharan (800) in the list. Anderson got rich tributes from his captain Joe Root and India captain Virat Kohli.

“What Jimmy has achieved and what he’s capable of achieving still is astounding,” said Joe Root. “The most exciting thing is he’s probably bowling at his best. For him to have taken as many wickets as he has, chasing the big spinners is a phenomenal effort.”

“The most important thing is that we do everything we can to prolong his career and give him opportunities to chase those guys down. Hopefully, there’s a number of series in the future where he’s leading the attack and terrorizing batsmen. Good luck trying to get the ball off him,” Root said.

The series was dubbed as a battle between Virat Kohli and James Anderson and Kohli paid tribute in his own style. “It’s been fun,” he said of their battle. “It’s been very competitive, but in the right way. A word here and there, but it’s been sarcastic.”

Kohli added, “As a cricketer, you want to be pushed, you want to be tested, and guys like him test you all the time. That’s why he stands at the top of the fast bowlers’ leaderboard. He has a keen eye for figuring out faults, and he can bowl accordingly. He deserves what he achieved today because he’s worked hard for it. He’s been relentless and patient over so many years.”

(with inputs from independent.co.uk)