Why James Anderson’s spell reminded Joe Root of Andrew Flintoff

England skipper Joe Root said that James Anderson’s crucial spell on day five of the Chennai Test against India reminded him of Andrew Flintoff's bowling heroics in 2005.

James Anderson cleaned up Shubman Gill (50) and Ajinkya Rahane (0) in his first over, and soon added the wicket of Rishabh Pant (11) to put India on the back foot.

The senior England pacer ended with exceptional figures of 3 for 17 in India's second innings, as the visitors clinched the first Test by a comprehensive margin of 227 runs.

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Joe Root said:

"It reminded me a little bit of Flintoff in '05 and the impact of that over to Ponting and Langer, but in the context of this game it was huge."

In the 2005 Ashes Test in Edgbaston that Root was referring to, Flintoff claimed the massive wickets of Justin Langer and Ricky Ponting.

He ended up with figures of 4 for 79 in Australia’s second innings as England edged the Aussies by two runs in a cliff-hanger of a Test match.

A huge win over India in the first Test has propelled England to the top of the ICC World Test Championship standings 👀#WTC21 pic.twitter.com/8AaC8XMrjr

— ICC (@ICC) February 9, 2021

Cricketing fraternity hails James Anderson for exceptional spell

Following his heroics in Chennai, 38-year-old James Anderson earned handsome praise from many past and present cricketers. Applauding Anderson after England’s victory, captain and Man of the Match Joe Root said:

“The way he goes about things - constantly challenging himself at 38 to still get better - he's a great role model to the rest of the ground. And his skill level is right up there.”

While former India batsman VVS Laxman described James Anderson as a ‘GOAT’, ex-England captain Kevin Pietersen took to Twitter to laud the veteran paceman for his versatility. He wrote:

“To be the greatest for your country, you need to have ‘done it’ it all conditions. Jimmy has done that! Huge WIN for England!”

For his stellar knock of 218 in the first innings, Joe Root has been awarded the Player of the Match 💪#INDvENG pic.twitter.com/vX0Jefh04V

— ICC (@ICC) February 9, 2021

England’s victory in Chennai has kept their chances of progressing to the World Test Championship final alive. They need to win two of the next three Tests to qualify for the summit clash at Lord's.