SANJAY: ONLY JIMMY CAN STOP HOT KOHLI

ENGLAND have been warned not to expect any mercy from run machine Virat Kohli and keeping veteran paceman James Anderson fresh is their best chance of success against him.

That is the verdict of ex-India batsman and television pundit Sanjay Manjrekar, who has seen enough already in the first Test at Edgbaston to know Kohli stands between England and a series victory.

England claimed a 31-run win before lunch on the fourth day yesterday but only after Kohli’s wicket did the hosts scent a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

India’s skipper followed his masterful 149 in the first innings to again be their backbone with 51.

Manjrekar (right) told the Daily Star Sunday: “There is still that one weakness in Virat’s game and only Jimmy Anderson has the kind of deliveries to exploit that.

“Already we have seen how Virat is working to improve. In the first innings he was leaving a lot more balls.

“But when he did put bat to ball it was going towards gully off the thick edge because he was playing with an open face and it was giving Anderson a chance of getting him out. In the second innings, though, a few of those shots were going towards the covers.

“It’s going to be tough for England in this series as Kohli is not a guy who is going to relax because he has scored a hundred.” Manjrekar, who played 37 Tests between 1987-96, added: “India are not a strong team in overseas conditions, they are so reliant on their captain.

“The worst thing that could happen to England, though, is an over-reliance on Anderson and by the time of the third Test we see him looking tired or breaking down.”