India cricket great Sachin Tendulkar is looking forward to the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final which is scheduled to be played from June 18 between India and New Zealand. Tendulkar lauded Team India for reaching the final and called the historic Test series to win in Australia "the icing on the cake".
Speaking to ANI, Tendulkar said the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2020/21 win with so many players missing out due to injury was incredible. "I am thrilled. This is the World Test Championship and to be able to get there in the top two, speaks volumes about how the team has performed.
"It is simply outstanding and the icing on the cake has to be the Australian trip. There were so many injuries, there were like 10-11 players missing on that tour, and in spite of that we were able to deliver the knockout punch which was incredible," he said.
After ICC changed the WTC points system due to the pandemic, India's clashes against Australia and England became very important. After securing a memorable Test series win in Australia, they also had to continue the dominance at home against Joe Root-led England to ensure a place in the final, and they succeeded in it.
Tendulkar further talked about the area outside the off-stump which troubles India captain Virat Kohli a lot. He feels the India skipper has done well to work on his weakness and it's all fine now.
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"I think outside the off-stump or whatever that is, all batters get out from there. So, I won't look at whatever shot he is playing. What is the percentage that Kohli is getting the shots right and how many times he has been dismissed? If we compare that, then the player has to assess and plan that these are the areas I need to tighten up. But I wouldn't worry too much about all those things, it has been fine, to be honest," he said.
The 48-year-old had decided not to play the drive against Australia at Sydney Cricket Ground in 2004, and he was asked if Kohli should do something similar to tackle the New Zealand pacers?
"I am sure a batsman of his caliber understands the game as he is a good student. He will have his plans. It need not be that 'okay I am not going to play this shot'. Sometimes you know, you adjust your stance and do a lot of things at the crease which the bowlers sometimes don't pick. All those minor tweaks one can do.
"I started not playing that shot (drive), but it wasn't decided in the dressing room. I went there on the field and figured out their strategy is to keep the ball away from me, so I said okay let's see who loses patience first. It was me against the 11 and I thought if you keep bowling the ball there, I will keep leaving it. If it is for two days, I will. It happened on the field and I am sure with him also, he will realize what they are trying to do and then you should have the flexibility to move from Plan A to Plan B and respond to various challenges," he explained.
Tendulkar also opened up on Rohit Sharma, who will be opening for India against the Dukes ball. He feels Rohit being a smart batsman would take time before picking his target and going for runs.
"Rohit is smart that way and understands when to press the accelerator. He is not someone who is going to go from ball one. He is going to kind of understand the conditions, how the pitch is playing and who is bowling well, and then I won't be surprised if he targets someone who is not getting his rhythm on that day.
"But, up front to do that, I don't think that would be Rohit's gameplan. It would be just to play out the first few overs and see what is happening. Once you have assessed that, then you know who to target."
Tendulkar has been helping COVID-19 patients and he also donated blood on World Blood Donor Day. "The last two months from my point of view, I have had a tough time and I have recovered fully now. I donated blood because of my personal experience and there was an article that there was a shortage of blood and we all need to step up for a noble cause.
"From my personal experience, I can say recently one of my family members had major surgery and lost a lot of blood. It was a traumatic experience for us and some unknown person donated blood which saved my family member's life. That touched my heart and I don't even know who this person is. So, I want to use this platform to thank the person and the reason for us donating blood yesterday was firstly because it was World Blood Donor Day. Secondly, me and my team decided to do that because it will help some needy person. Hope for more people to come forward and donate blood with doctor's advice."
(With Inputs of ANI)
