Despite a stellar start in the first two Tests of the series against England, opener Rohit Sharma failed to score a century. However, former legend Sachin Tendulkar says that Rohit was seen playing a notch above his normal game in England.
In an interview to PTI, Tendulkar said, "I saw nothing, I think, has been improved and could play the other side to show how he changed the circumstances of your game K ''
Rohit was dismissed irresponsibly playing his favorite hook and pull shot on this tour but Tendulkar defended him, saying, "He has given great support to KL Rahul like a leader. As far as playing the pull shot is concerned, he has sent the ball across the boundary several times with that shot and I am looking at what he has achieved for the team in both the Tests.''
Vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara put on a century partnership in the second innings to get India out of a difficult situation. However, he batted very slowly during this period.
The former batsman, who scored the highest run in international cricket, said, "When he came to the crease, three wickets had fallen for 28 runs. In view of this, he played a very important role. Had we lost five wickets for 60 runs, the match would have changed completely. He played his part in grooming the innings.
Asked about Indian captain Virat Kohli's poor form, Tendulkar, who scored a century in international cricket, said, "Virat didn't start well. Sometimes technical mistakes can happen due to the things going on in the mind. When you don't get a good start, you start thinking about a lot of things. In such a situation the anxiety level is high, so you want to make up for the poor innings with your game. This happens with everyone."
Asked about the comparison of the Indian team's current pace bowling with the bowling era of Kapil Dev, Javagal Srinath and Zaheer Khan, he said, "Today this bowling attack is the best in the world. It shows talent, discipline and fitness but hard work and willingness to learn more. I don't like to be compared to another era because the bowling attack should also be judged by the batsmen who are batting against them. During the generation of Kapil or Srinath or Zaheer, they had different batsmen in front of them.
Asked about Jasprit Bumrah, who found momentum after a disappointing bowling in the World Test Championship, he said, "I felt Bumrah didn't get enough practice for long spells before the WTC final. He is the kind of bowler who will get better the more he bowls. He not only has a big heart but also a brain and we saw it yesterday when he dismissed Ollie Robinson with a wonderfully slow delivery.
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