Veteran England pacer James Anderson gave a fantastic start to the hosts in the ongoing third Test, as he struck early to scalp three wickets to break the backbone of the Indian batting line-up, which lost three wickets inside the first 10 over on Day 1 at Headingley, Leeds.
England bowlers have completely dominated on the opening day as none of the India batters, except Rohit Sharma (19) and Ajinkya Rahane (18), could cross the 10-run mark with the Indian cricket team bowled out for their lowest Test total 78 against England since being dismissed for 42 at Lord's in 1974 on Wednesday (August 25) in Leeds.
Well, it was a day for England as the hosts have got a fabulous start with the bat as well, as the openers Rory Burns and Haseeb Hameed scored their individual fifties and are unbeaten at 52* off 125 balls and 60* off 130 runs respectively with the scorecard reads 120, taking a lead of 42 runs against Team India.
After the end of Day 1 play at Headingley, Anderson admitted that such occasions are rare in Test cricket as he was elated to get a wonderful start in the third Test after embarrassing defeat at Lord’s, saying England couldn’t ask for a more better performance against India.
Anderson said during the virtual press conference: “With both ball and bat, we've displayed exactly what we wanted to do. It doesn't get much better than that I don't think. These days don't come around very often so you just have to be happy when they do.”
The pacer revealed that he was keen to bowl in Melbourne when England had dismissed Australia for 98 in the Boxing Day Test in 2010, but on Wednesday, he wanted the hosts to bat first if Joe Root had won the toss against India at Headingley.
He added, “The only difference with Melbourne is that I was keen to bowl there and I wasn't today for some reason. I was trying to tempt Joe into batting if he won the toss. I think he was leaning towards a bowl but we'll never know.”
Praising young Hammed, Anderson said: “I couldn't be happier for him (Hameed). Since he's come back into the Test set-up you can see how much he's worked on his game, how he's become a better player. One thing he's always had is the right temperament for international cricket and we saw that today in bucket loads. He was calm, he was measured and he had a game plan which he executed brilliantly.”
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He continued, “To see him play that way is not something we're surprised by. Everyone is absolutely delighted for him. The way the two guys (Hameed and Burns) played towards the end of the day with the bat was outstanding and exactly what we've been asking for.”
However, Anderson wasn’t sure whether England bowled really well or the wicket at Headingley was more favorable for the bowlers.
The pacer noted, “When you bowl someone out for less than 100 you're never quite sure whether you've bowled well or if the wicket is not as good as you think it might be.”
He signed off by saying, “To see both sides bat on it and see the way our openers went about their business just felt so calm. They were solid in defence, left well, and put away the bad ball when they got one. I just thought it was brilliant Test match batting.”
(With ANI Inputs)
