The much-awaited "Virat Kohli vs James Anderson" battle went in the England pacer's favour as the Indian skipper walked back on a first-ball duck in the first England-India Test in Nottingham.
Kohli, who tried to poke a good length delivery, edged it straight to Jos Buttler behind the stumps, prolonging his lean patch in Test cricket. While Kohli registered a golden duck, opener Rohit Sharma missed out on a half-century as he fell for 36 at the stroke of lunch.
Kohli also recorded the most golden ducks among Indian Test captains -- 3. Former skippers Lala Amarnath, Kapil Dev and Sourav Ganguly have two golden ducks each. Kohli was Anderson’s bunny when he toured England back in 2014.
Ahead of the Test, Anderson had said that is not bothered about taking Kohli's wicket as long as some England bowler dismisses him. “I’m definitely excited to play against him again. You always want to challenge yourself against the best in the world and he’s certainly that.
"We know how big a player he is for them both as a batsman and as captain, he has a huge influence on that team. So we know he’s a big wicket and to be honest I don’t care if I get him out. As long as somebody gets him out that’s the main thing. He’s an important wicket,” Anderson had said at the pre-match presser.
England, who were dismissed for 183 in the first innings on Day 1, were desperate to get some quick wickets and they managed to do it on the second day.
India were pegged back by early wickets. After Rohit, Cheteshwar Pujara (4) and Kohli made their way back in no time. Vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane (5) was also run out due to a mix-up with KL Rahul.
Rahul, who notched up his 12th Test half-century, was the lone Indian who shone in the middle. He steadied his side's innings with a 57-run innings at a time when wickets kept falling at regular intervals.
