England’s legendary swing bowler, James Anderson registers his 621st victim in the Test cricket and surpasses India’s iconic spin bowler Anil Kumble, who pocketed 619 wickets in his Test career. Anderson is the highest wicket-taker in the longest format as a pacer and overall third, he is only bettered by Muttiah Muralitharan (800) and Shane Warne (708).
The 39-year-old swing bowler surpassed Kumble in the first Test match against India on Day 2, Thursday when he dismissed Virat Kohli for a golden duck. Anderson who is in the last leg of his career still manages to play a crucial role for England in the toughest format of cricket.
The Lancashire cricketer is the most capped player for England in Test cricket with 163 matches and has grabbed 621 wickets so far at an impressive average of 26.59 with 30 five-wicket hauls. In the ODI format, he made 194 appearances with 269 scalps to his name at a healthy average of 29.22.
The rain-affected Test continues, after wrapping up England for a mere total of 183, the Indians posted a total of 278 with vital contributions from KL Rahul (84) and Ravindra Jadeja (56), which helped the tourists garner a lead of 95 in the first innings. After Jadeja’s contribution at the back end of the innings, India’s tail wagged with Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj adding almost 50 runs before they ran out of wickets. A splendid batting performance by the Indians in overcast conditions put them in the driver’s seat. Before the day was called off due to the downpour, the English openers scored 25 without losing a single wicket. England trails by 70 runs and will look forward to setting up a challenging target for the Indians in the fourth innings on a tricky pitch.