England veteran James Anderson added another glorious chapter to his remarkable tale of longevity when he became the first pacer and the third bowler overall to take 700 Test wickets, in the fifth and last Test against India on Saturday.
Anderson reached the milestone in his 187th Test by removing India's Kuldeep Yadav, caught behind on day three. He lured the Indian tail-ender into a drive and induced the outside edge.
The 41-year-old was on 699 scalps overnight after dismissing Shubman Gill with a beauty on day one.
The only other pacer to have taken 600 Test wickets or more is his former teammate Stuart Broad, who retired last year with 604 in the bag.
Sri Lankan spin great Muttiah Muralidaran has 800 scalps to his name, the most in Tests, followed by the late Shane Warne (708).
India spin great Anil Kumble is fourth in the all time list with 619 wickets in 132 Tests.
Having started when greats like Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting and Brian Lara were in their prime, Anderson also asked tough questions to the immediate next generation including Virat Kohli, Steve Smith and Kane Williamson.
And in this series, he challenged a Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill, who were toddlers when he made his debut.
No one could have put it more aptly about his longevity than Sachin Tendulkar.
"The first time I saw Anderson play was in Australia in 2002, and his control over the ball looked special. Nasser Hussain spoke very highly of him back then and today, I am sure, he would say, "Maine bola tha" that he had called it so early," Tendulkar wrote on his official 'X' handle.
"700 test wickets is a stellar achievement. A fast bowler playing for 22 years and performing so consistently to be able to take 700 wickets would have sounded like fiction until Anderson actually made it happen. Simply magnificent!," the legend further added.
India could only add four runs to their overnight tally to end up at 477, gaining a 259-run first innings lead.
Anderson remains at the top of his game, both physically and skill-wise having made his international debut back in 2002.
England skipper Ben Stokes had spoken highly about his illustrious teammate ahead of England's final Test on the long tour of India.
"Jimmy coming up to 700 wickets, it's phenomenal to think about, especially as a seam bowler. Amazing career to date, and I can't see him stopping. I have played with Jimmy for a long time and I've never seen him as physically fit as he does right now.
"Being 41, showing that hunger and desire to get better every single day is testament to his attitude and commitment to the game," said Stokes.
Besides close to 200 Tests, Anderson has played 194 ODIs and 19 T20s. He is 13 short of completing 1,000 wickets in international cricket.
