On the day Jimmy Anderson celebrated mountain goat status, England’s expedition ended in outright failure, a harrowing second avalanche of wickets at the hands of India’s majestic spinners turning a tour of missed opportunities into a full-blown 4-1 thumping.
In some ways it summed up the trip as a whole, an Englishman snatching the top line when the hosts were the real deal. Although, in fairness, this was some rarefied air Anderson was breathing, becoming Test cricket’s first (and most likely last) seamer to reach 700 wickets when Kuldeep Yadav tickled an edge behind 13 minutes into play.
Continue reading...