Anderson went to bed dreaming about Kohli's wicket

On paper England need five wickets to win the first Test; in reality, they need one, that of Virat Kohli. At least that’s what England’s highest wicket-taker James Anderson believes.

On paper England need five wickets to win the first Test; in reality, they need one, that of Virat Kohli. At least that’s what England’s highest wicket-taker James Anderson believes.

The importance of Kohli’s wicket is such that it has forced Anderson to think about it even in his dreams. "We'll go to bed dreaming about getting Kohli out first thing," admitted Anderson.

India have gone to stumps, needing 84 runs to take a 1-0 lead. Importantly for India, Virat Kohli is still there. And according to Anderson that is England’s biggest concern.

"If he (Kohli) bats like he did in the first innings India will win. Even batting with the tail, he just managed to find the gap, or get down the other end - the way he batted with the tail was brilliant.

"We need five wickets, simple as that, fairly quickly - otherwise, they'll get the runs. We've just got to give it everything we've got for the first 15-20 overs - leave absolutely nothing out there," he said.

The battle between Anderson and Kohli has been fascinating to watch. The swing maestro, who had the measure of Kohli the last time India came to England may not have been able to replicate the same magic in this Test match but he did give the Indian captain tough times in the first innings.

"I've been encouraged the way I've bowled at him (Kohli) in this game so far, found the edge a few times in the first innings. On another day I could have got him for 20, and then we're not talking about how brilliant he is," Anderson said last night.

Stressing on the slip catching, Anderson said it is pivotal to hold onto every chance on offer when it comes to a player like Kohli.

"You can't drop Virat Kohli on 21, because he's one of the best players in the world, and he'll capitalise on that and which he did. We could have been in a much different position now. We've just got to go away and know we can get him. No one is invincible in world cricket. We can get him out," he said.

Interestingly, Kohli was dropped twice of Anderson’s bowling in the first innings, on 21 and 51 by Dawid Malan.

Kohli went to score 149, taking India close to England’s first innings total.