James Anderson said England “absolutely nailed it” after they dismissed India for just 78 on the opening day of the third Test at Headingle...
James Anderson said England “absolutely nailed it” after they dismissed India for just 78 on the opening day of the third Test at Headingley on Wednesday before surging into a first-innings lead without losing a wicket.
India captain Virat Kohli won the toss only for Anderson to remove a trio of top-order batsmen, including the tourists’ skipper, during a return of 3-6 in eight overs.
Anderson, the most successful fast bowler in Test history, then saw Rory Burns and Haseeb Hameed pile on the agony for India with an unbroken stand of 120 that left England 42 runs ahead at stumps.
“We just absolutely nailed it. With both ball and bat we’ve displayed exactly what we wanted to do,” said Anderson.
It was just the third time any side had taken all 10 wickets and moved ahead on the first day of a Test without losing a single batsman in reply.
The previous occasion was during England’s triumph in a 2010 clash at Melbourne where they dismissed Australia for 98 before Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook saw them to 157-0 at stumps.
Anderson is the last remaining England survivor from that match, with this game seeing him extend his national record of Test appearances to 165.
That left him well-placed to...
