India batting legend Sachin Tendulkar advised national team batters to be patient and be confident of their defense on the front foot if they want to achieve success in the upcoming three-Test series against South Africa beginning on December 26 in Centurion.
Tendulkar, who was part of India's five-Test tours of South Africa – 1992, 1996, 2001, 2006, 2010, scored five centuries in the rainbow nation.
"I've always said, front foot defense is important. Up front, front foot defence is important. And that front foot defence is going to count here. The first 25 overs, front foot defence is going to be critical. The hands were not going away from the body.
When your hands start going away from your body, that is when you start losing control slowly, but surely. And the beauty was their hands were not going away," Tendulkar told veteran sports journalist on his show 'Backstage with Boria'.
Furthermore, Tendulkar used the examples of KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma, who both got hundreds on the recent Test tour of England and said that the key to batting is showing patience.
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"They got beaten on occasion and that's fine, you know? Every batter gets beaten. Bowlers are there to pick wickets, so that's okay. But when your hands start going away from your body, that is when you are likely to edge the ball.
The reason for them continuing to bat was because their hands were close to their body. And that was the major difference between the earlier partnerships which were unsuccessful and the last tour of England where the openers really did a fabulous job,” Tendulkar added.
