James Anderson was on the receiving end when Jasprit Bumrah targeted him with a barrage of bouncers and short balls during England’s first innings in the second Test at Lord’s. Anderson, who came out to bat at no.11 was not expecting such hostile reception and was caught off guard by the Indian pacer. Bumrah bowled four no-balls in his over but almost every delivery was targeted at Anderson’s body.
Anderson was seemingly left miffed by Bumrah’s treatment of him and was also spotted exchanging some words with the Indian pacers out in the middle. Bumrah’s bouncer barrage also didn’t go down well with the England team as they tried targeting the Indian pacer when he came out to bat in India’s second innings on Day 5 of the Test match.
However, Bumrah managed to survive and went on to score an unbeaten 34. He combined with Mohammed Shami to add a crucial 89-run stand for the 9th wicket which changed the complexion of the game and took the game away from the hosts as India won by 151 runs.
Anderson recently opened up on facing the fiery over from Bumrah and said it felt like something that he had never experienced before in his career. The England pacer claimed Bumrah was not trying to get him out but trouble him with his pace and bounce during their face-off.
“I got caught off guard a little bit because all the batters coming in were saying how slow the pitch was. Banged in short; it was really slow. When I came out to bat, Joe said Bumrah was not bowling as quick as he normally does,” said Anderson on Tailenders podcast.
“And then, the first ball was 90 miles an hour and on the money, wasn’t it? And it felt like, I haven’t felt like this ever in my career. I felt he wasn’t trying to get me out,” he added.
With the help of Bumrah and Shami’s record partnership for the ninth wicket, India managed to post 298/8 (declared) on the board and set up a target of 272 runs for England on Day 5. The bowlers then ran riot against the hosts as Joe Root & Co.were bundled out for 120 runs in their second innings. India currently lead the five-match series 1-0 with a memorable win at Lord’s.
