Sachin Tendulkar advises Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma: The legendary cricketer was vocal about the Mohammad Amir challenge for India.
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A 339-run target was always going to be difficult for India in a Champions Trophy final. Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir bowling a fierce spell to restrict India to 33/3 in the ninth over further strengthened Pakistan’s hold on the match.
Another spell of similar venom has it in it to found the Indian batsmen wanting despite their supreme form in the recent times. Come this Sunday, eyeballs will once again be looking forward to Amir bowling against the Indian top-order.
In a recent interview with India Today, legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar opined that Pakistani duo of Amir and Wahab Riaz will be targeting the wickets of India captain Virat Kohli and vice-captain Rohit Sharma. Citing the same, Tendulkar expected the senior India duo to play a long innings with the rest of the batsmen playing around them.
“Rohit [Sharma] and Virat [Kohli] are the two more experienced players in the lineup and Pakistan would be focussing on getting them early without any doubt as that opens the game for them.
“[Mohammad] Amir and Wahab Riaz will definitely target their wickets early on. But Rohit and Virat should also be looking to play long innings. The plan should be that the rest of the guys play around them,” Tendulkar was quoted as saying.
Sachin Tendulkar advises Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma
In Pakistan’s last match against Australia, Amir was the pick of Pakistani bowlers as he registered his maiden five-wicket haul in ODIs. While Tendulkar praised Amir for his recent achievement, he advised Kohli and Sharma to not try anything different and be aggressive in all departments.
“Yesterday [June 12], his [Amir’s] first spell was very accurate. He was hitting the right areas and made [Aaron] Finch’s life difficult. I wouldn’t go in with a negative mindset of playing dot balls against him. If you get an opportunity, I would encourage India to play their shots and stay positive.
“It’s not about survival but rather going out there and even defend positively. No need to do anything different. We need to be aggressive in all departments. The body language is important – the bowler knows that you’re in control if you defend confidently,” Tendulkar added.
In six ODIs against India, Amir has picked five wickets at an average of 42.80, an economy rate of 4.97 and a strike rate of 59.6.
