[Watch] When Ravi Ashwin Stood Up For Virat Kohli Against James Anderson

image-lsfz1oybVirat Kohli crafted 235 runs in the match (AP)

Modern-day batting legend Virat Kohli did not have the best of beginnings to his illustrious Test career when he first arrived on the red-ball scene. In one of his earliest overseas assignments back in 2014, when Team India travelled to England for a five-match series, Kohli tallied just 134 runs across all 10 innings at a below-par average of just 13.40.

Kohli’s torrid English summer questioned his credibility as a batter on tough overseas surfaces, before he rejuvenated himself with a string of four splendid centuries in Australia later that same year.

Despite Kohli’s redemption, familiar nemesis James Anderson brought up the cricketer’s 2014 struggles when the senior English paceman himself arrived in India for a return five-match rubber in December 2016. As it turned out, his attempts of verbally rattling the Indian legend were thwarted by seasoned spinner Ravichandran Ashwin in Mumbai.

When Ravichandran Ashwin stood up to Anderson

England team, under Alastair Cook, toured India for a five-match Test series in late 2016. Trailing 0-2 to the hosts after the first three Tests, the visitors found themselves at the brink of another huge innings defeat at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium in the penultimate fixture of the series.

Virat Kohli pounded a then career-best 235 in the match to extend India’s lead to 231 runs at the halfway stage of the game.

After stumps on Day 4, seasoned English speedster James Anderson took a dig at Kohli’s technique by implying that the Indian batter was simply reaping the benefits of friendly batting conditions on home pitches.

His comments clearly did go down well with Ravichandran Ashwin, as the legendary Indian spinner had a verbal exchange with Anderson the following morning at the brink of a huge England defeat.

Watch: Ravichandran Ashwin stands up for Virat Kohli

After India completed yet another one-sided win over England, then captain Virat Kohli himself acknowledged Ravichandran Ashwin’s verbal duel with James Anderson.

While Kohli bagged the ‘Player of the Series’ award for scoring 655 runs across all five matches and leading India to a 4-0 win at home, his real redemption against James Anderson and co. came during the English summer of 2018. Leading his Indian troops in England for a fresh five-match challenge, Kohli shrugged off his 2014 demons by pumping out a staggering haul of 593 runs in the series.