Anderson instrumental in helping England draw first Test

England's fast bowler, James Anderson, delivered with both bat and ball to help his side draw the first Test match against India, in Trent Bridge, on Sunday.

Anderson, the mainstay of England's attack, made the most of the little assistance the pitch had to offer on the first day and dismissed India's top-three batsmen.

Opener Murali Vijay, who was Anderson's third victim, top-scored for the tourists with 146. Vijay and captain MS Dhoni combined for a 126-run stand for the fifth wicket to help India post an impressive 457 in the first innings.

England faltered at the start of their innings and lost captain Alastair Cook, in the fourth over, for five. Sam Robson and Gary Ballance dropped anchor and put on a 125-run stand for the second wicket. However, England were in trouble after the two were dismissed within six overs.

England's lost four wickets for just 40 runs. It was then that the lower order, dropped anchor. First, Stuart Broad combined with Joe Root for a 78-run, eighth-wicket stand and then Anderson joined Root for a mammoth 198-run partnership for the tenth wicket.

Anderson scored 81 runs and the 130 balls that he faced was the second-most by an England No.11. Anderson innings was the highest score by an English No.11 in Tests and the third-highest by any in that position. The partnership helped the hosts take a 39-run lead in the first innings.

India's second innings followed a similar pattern to their first. They lost opener Shikhar Dhawan in the 12th over for 29 and then Vijay and Pujara constructed a 91-run stand for the second wicket. Following their departure off consecutive balls, India's middle order collapsed. They lost four wickets for just 44 runs.

Till then, Anderson hadn't featured in the wickets tally in the second innings. But he dismissed Ravindra Jadeja, breaking his 65-run partnership with Stuart Binny, who scored 78. Like they did in the first innings, India's lower order came good and helped the tourists draw the Test. Anderson won the Man-of-the-Match award for his strong all-round performance.

"I thought the way Broady played was excellent in giving us the momentum back. The rest of us took heart from that and went there knowing we could bat on that wicket. There were no demons in the pitch," Anderson said.

"I'm a number 11 and I work hard at it but not a lot is expected of my batting and it's not why I'm in the team, but I have had some success with it in the past by grinding out draws, not getting the runs but I've had to do certain jobs for the team."