England's James Anderson with teammate celebrates after taking the wicket of India's Kuldeep Yadav during the 3rd day of the fifth Test cricket match between India and England, in Dharamsala, Satutday, March 9, 2024.
Credit: PTI Photo
London: Veteran England pacer James Anderson has revealed that Kuldeep Yadav had a hunch about being his 700th Test wicket when the two came face to face during the fifth and final Test against India in Dharamsala.
Anderson became the first pacer and third bowler to take 700 Test wickets on March 9 with Yadav being his landmark scalp. It was Anderson's 187th Test appearance.
"Kuldeep edged one down to third man for a single. As he got to the non-striker's end, and as I was walking back to my mark, he said: 'I'm going to be you 700th wicket'," Anderson said BBC's Tailenders podcast.
"He wasn't saying he was trying to get out, he was just saying he had a feeling. We both laughed at it." Anderson, however, said the moment would have been more joyous had England finished on the winning side in the series which they lost 1-4.
"I didn't celebrate, there was nothing to celebrate. Obviously that was a nice moment to achieve the feat on a picturesque ground. I would have felt a bit more excited if we would have won," the 41-year-old pacer said.
"I don't play cricket for milestones, I play cricket to win matches for my team." Anderson said despite the defeat, there was plenty of positives to take home from the away series.
"I really enjoyed this tour, obviously we lost 4-1, the results weren't that great but we stuck together really well as a group. There were young spinners and batters who will learn so much from this tour," he said.