Jonny Bairstow looking forward to duel of 'two greats' Virat Kohli and James Anderson

Jonny Bairstow

When Virat Kohli was asked about his plan to tackle England swing great Jimmy Anderson on the eve of the first Test at Trent Bridge, the Indian skipper replied with a straight face: "I'll just bat."

Kohli versus Anderson have had some historic battles ever since the England pacer first dismissed the Indian batsman during the 2012 Test at Eden Gardens for six. During the 2014 tour to England, Anderson was Kohli's nemesis, dismissing him four times during the five-Test series.

However, since then India and England met thrice, but Anderson's pursuit for Kohli's wicket continued.

England pacer James Anderson is thrilled after dismissing Virat Kohli in the first Test at Trent Bridge on August 5. Pic/Getty Images

Finally, after seven years, Anderson was once again rewarded with the prized wicket of Kohli when the Indian skipper nicked one to the wicketkeeper to be dismissed for a golden duck in the first Test at Nottingham.

"The two greats" may have set the tempo for the Pataudi Trophy and England batsman Jonny Bairstow is expecting a fascinating battle between them. "They are two greats of cricket going toe-to-toe in Test cricket, which is quite exciting for anybody in the world to watch it as a cricket fan. Jimmy's knowledge about all conditions around the world is amazing, but how exceptional he is in England with the Dukes ball is just huge.

"There are many different chapters with the duel and that's what comes along with the longevity of Test cricket. It is going to be a fascinating battle [between Kohli and Anderson] throughout the series," said Bairstow during a virtual media conference organised by series broadcaster Sony Pictures Network on Tuesday.

Despite India bossing the rain-marred drawn first Test in the main, Bairstow said no team have an edge going into the second Test at Lord's, starting on Thursday.

"Both teams will look at the game slightly differently. With India needing 157 on the last day [at Trent Bridge], I felt it was quite tricky because we saw our bowlers doing extremely well with those conditions. So who knows, how that would have panned out. People are looking at it in different ways," said Bairstow, who is thrilled to play in front of a full house at Lord's since the COVID-19 pandemic struck.

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