'Coming out Very Nicely': Ravi Shastri Lauds James Anderson's Effort at Left Arm Orthodox in Nets

English pace stalwart James Anderson, who is in India with his national side, gave the world a glimpse of his lesser-known ability to bowl left-arm spin during a training session at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad on Friday.

The 41-year-old’s off-beat attempts enthused pundits and fans alike with legendary Indian player Ravi Shastri commending the English pacer in a light-hearted moment at the opening Test of the five-match series against India.

“It’s coming out nicely. Very nicely. Well done, Jimmy,” Shastri was heard lauding the right-hand seamer’s efforts at left-arm orthodox bowling.

India have the upper-hand in the opening Tets of the series as Rohit Sharma and Co. lead by 175 runs before taking the field for the third day of the Test in Telangana.

England won the toss and opted to have a bat first as India managed to bowl the visitors out for 246 runs in their first innings thanks to the efforts of the team’s spinners with Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin scalping three English wickets each while Axar Patel dismissed two touring batters.

Pacer Jasprit Bumrah chipped in with a couple of wickets as the Englishmen were bundled out on the game’s first day. Skipper Ben Stokes starred with the willow, making 70 runs for his side.

India soared to the lead riding on brilliant innings from opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, wicketkeeper-batsman KL Rahul and Jadeja, who all made scores of over 80.

Jaiswal started the inning in stunning fashion as he took the English bowling attack to the cleaners on Day 1 before Rahul and unbeaten Jadeja solidified the Indian innings on Day 2.

At the end of the second day of the first Test, team India’s Jadeja and Axar were at the crease with 81 runs and 35 runs to their names respectively as the hosts pushed their total to 421 runs for the loss of seven wickets, with three wickets in hand.