Watch: James Anderson dismisses Shubman Gill, Ajinkya Rahane with jaffas!

James Anderson, in the first Test against India in Chennai, showed why he is hailed as one of the greatest exponents with the red-ball. The England veteran pacer enjoyed a fruitful outing on Day 5 of the first Test, wrapping up the likes of Shubman Gill and Ajinkya Rahane with some cracking display of reverse-swing.

Anderson bowled two back-to-back peaches to dismiss Gill and Rahane in a similar fashion with the ball pitching just outside off-stump at a good length before coming back to take the stumps for a ride. Not only did Anderson’s dual blow allowed England to get a strong grip into the match, it also broke the backbone of the Indian batting unit.

The 38-year-old then came back to get rid of an in-form Rishabh Pant to put England in a match-winning position. The visitors went on to win the match by 227 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the series.

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Here's James Anderson's epic full-over: 

“The ball was reversing. We knew we had to get the lengths right and I managed to do that. I got a bit of luck with the bounce there. Reverse swing was huge for us. The pitch was obviously slow and deteriorating so movement in the air makes us seamers feel we can get a wicket any ball. I am feeling great. Had a good tour of Sri Lanka and have managed to carry on the form here as well,” Anderson said after the end of the first Test.

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“Glad to have got the nod for this game, we have a good lot of bowlers here. It was hard graft out there for five days, now need to rest well for three days and come hard again in... well three days (smiles). Root is a great player of spin. Has led us from the front, led by example. Hopefully, he can continue the form and the rest of us can chip in,” the England veteran added.

It remains to be seen whether Anderson gets the nod for the second Test with England’s strong rotation policy coming into the play. It was Stuart Broad who missed out of the match and is expected to come back into the playing XI for the second Test, scheduled to start from February 13 in Chennai.