Jimmy Anderson hails Virat Kohli as the best chaser in ODI history

Virat Kohli has been an inspiration for cricketers across generations and his charismatic presence in the cricketing circuit has been labelled as iconic by pundits, cricketers and fans alike. The greatest testimony to his impeccable batting is the collection of his gilt-edged assessments from the bowlers that he has once dominated.

Apart from his sheer rampage with the bat in his hands, he holds a particular knack for making it big while chasing. Also labelled as the Chasemaster, Virat Kohli has amassed 7852 runs in 155 innings at an average of 64.36 in ODIs. While doing so, he has smashed 27 centuries and 40 half-centuries.

Talking to the Tailenders Podcast, former English fast bowler James Anderson, who has had visibly classic battles on the pitch against Virat, opened up on how good the star batter is and also underscored the key attributes that makes him the run-scori machine that he is.

Anderson said, “I do not know if there has been a better batter in the history of the game batting second and chasing down scores than Virat Kohli. His record at chasing is absolutely phenomenal. The number of hundreds he has scored in the second innings, chasing down scores is ridiculous. It is no surprise that when he gets in that situation, with his mentality, it is just like it is meant to be. His self-belief is so high.”

In a quick comparison with another Australian great, Michael Bevan (Anderson named him as the best white-ball batter from the 90s and 2000s), Jimmy said, “Kohli batting at number 3 gets those hundreds while Bevan was renowned for getting his 50s, 60s and being at the end, while Kohli gets the big score, to get his teams over the line.”