England’s James Anderson on Saturday (March 9) etched his name in the history books of cricket as he became the first-ever fast bowler to pick up 700 Test wickets.
Overall, Anderson is the third bowler in the longest format of the game to breach the magical number with spin legends Muttiah Muralitharan (800) and Shane Warne (708) doing it before him.
Playing his 187th Test match, the 41-year-old accomplished this feat when he removed Kuldeep Yadav on Day 3 of the fifth and final Test against India at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala.
Anderson started the match with 698 wickets and dismissed Shubman Gill and Kuldeep Yadav during India’s first innings to achieve the record.
Anderson is already the leading Test wicket taker among pacers, having surpassed Australian great Glenn Mcgrath’s tally of 563 scalps in 2018.
James Anderson's early strike helped England wrap the Indian innings early on Saturday morning. Off-spinner Shoaib Bashir got the final wicket of Jasprit Bumrah as the hosts were bowled out for 477, securing a significant first-innings lead of 259 runs.
For his monumental achievement of taking 700 Test wickets, James Anderson received congratulatory messages and rich praise from the cricket fraternity on social media.
Here are the reactions:
