India's top 6 batsmen vs James Anderson: Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Pujara paint grim stats in England

Leeds, August 27: India will soon have to embark on an improbable recovery mission when they come out to bat in the second innings of the third Test against England at the Headingley.

England have already piled a first innings lead in excess of 300 runs, and Virat Kohli and his bunch will have to bat out of their skin to save this Test at least.

The only solution for India is to bat for time, the old school Test match batting and try to keep England bowlers at bay. But that is a task easier said than done even considering the fact the pitch has eased out a lot since that catastrophic first innings where India had bowled out for 78.

The conditions will remain murky as you would expect in England and the home side has a master to exploit these conditions in pacer James Anderson.

The Lancastrian is the third highest wicket-taker in Test cricket behind Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne and at 39 remains a canny bowler who knows how to exploit English conditions.

Anderson had blown away the Indian top order in the first innings taking three wickets - KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli that effectively ended the visitors' hope for a big first innings total at Leeds.

So, here MyKhel takes a look at how India's top 6 batsmen have fared against 'King of Swing' Anderson over the years. Not very surprisingly, their records in England do not paint a bright picture.

(Stats by Arun Gopalakrishnan. He tweets at @Statanalyst).

1. KL Rahul vs Anderson

In India: Dismissal: 0

In England: Dismissal: 4

Total: 4

At the end of the Lord's Test, Rahul had faced 326 balls from Anderson and made 154 runs with 24 fours.

2. Rohit Sharma vs Anderson

In India: Dismissal: 0

In England: Dismissal: 2 (Till the first innings of Headingley Test)

Total: 2

At the end of the Lord's Test, Rohit had faced 157 balls from Anderson and made 40 runs with four boundaries.

3. Cheteshwar Pujara vs Anderson

In India: Dismissal: 2

In England: Dismissal: 8 (Till the first innings of Headingley Test)

Total: 10

At the end of the Lord's Test, Pujara had tackled 683 balls from Anderson and made 208 runs with 29 fours.

4. Virat Kohli vs Anderson

In India: Dismissal: 1

In England: Dismissal: 6 (Till the first innings of Headingley Test)

Total: 7

At the end of the Lord's Test, Kohli had faced 579 balls from Anderson and garnered 244 runs with 29 fours.

5. Ajinkya Rahane vs Anderson

In India: Dismissal: 3

In England: Dismissal: 4 (Till the first innings of Headingley Test)

Total: 7

At the end of the Lord's Test, Rahane had faced 311 balls from Anderson making 114 runs with 11 fours and 1 six.

6. Rishabh Pant vs Anderson

In India: Dismissal: 2

In England: Dismissal: 1 (Till the first innings of Headingley Test)

At the end of the Lord's Test, Pant had faced 127 balls and made 64 runs with 12 fours.