Nottingham: The wily old James Anderson once again got his "bunny" Virat Kohli in a mesmerising spell that undid India's solid opening stand to leave them tottering at 125 for four against England on a rain-curtailed day two of the opening Test.
The 39-year-old Anderson (13.4-7-15-2) swung it in England's favour with successive precision deliveries that got Cheteshwar Pujara (4) and Virat Kohli (0) as India from 97 for no loss slumped to 112 for four in a space of less than six overs. The in-from KL Rahul (57 batting off 151 balls) is still standing tall amid ruins alongside Rishabh Pant (7 batting) but the advantage that India got in the opening session was neutralised by Anderson's spell and the pressure also led to an unfortunate run-out of Ajinkya Rahane (5).
Rahul's classy Test match batting would surely be a relief for the Indian team management after the talented Karnataka batsman lost his place in the longest formats due to a prolonged bad patch. He could have also been Anderson's third victim but was dropped in the slips, his only batting glitch on the day. The nine fours, mostly drives, were majestic and the control over his own mind while selecting the bad balls under overcast conditions was exemplary.
But Anderson did take the cake on the day the pacer with the highest number of Test matches under his belt (163rd game) equalled Anil Kumble's record of 619 scalps. He matched Kumble's record after fooling the Indian captain once again in the corridor of uncertainty. It was a fuller delivery that Kohli played for the inswinger but it held its line to take a healthy edge into Jos Buttler's gloves. Both Kohli and Anderson would have a sense of deja vu thinking about what happened in 2014.