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India vs Australia: Sachin Tendulkar has a special tip for Virat Kohli and co

The opening match of the series will start on Thursday, 6 December.

India vs Australia: Sachin Tendulkar has a special tip for Virat Kohli and co

India's captain Virat Kohli (C) along with teammates. (Photo: AFP)

Former Indian batting great Sachin Tendulkar has a special piece of advice for skipper Virat Kohli and co as Team India prepares to take on the troubled Australian team in the four-match Test series. The opening match of the series will start on Thursday, 6 December.

Though Australian teams are without the services of their star duo Steve Smith and David Warner, the likes of Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins are well equipped to trouble the Indian team in home conditions. Speaking about the upcoming series, Sachin Tendulkar said the top three batsmen needed to play out the first 30 overs so that the middle-order didn’t need to take strike against the moving ball.

“When you are travelling to these places, the opening pair becomes very critical. In fact, 1, 2 and 3 and sometimes, even No. 4 get in quickly. The responsibility of 1 to 3 is to play out almost the first 30 overs. But that again boils down to the surfaces that you get to play. I said before the start of the England tour that the first 40 overs are critical, after that the ball loses its hardness. There might be a little bit of swing later on, but it just gives you the time to adjust; when the ball is new, the hardness of it does not give you the time,” Sachin Tendulkar told Sportstar.

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Speaking about the condition of Australian pitches, Tendulkar said, “In Australia, the first 30-35 overs are going to be very critical when the ball is new and the seam is upright. Then the seam kind of flattens and fast bowlers may not find zip off the pitch. The first 35 overs would be critical unless they provide green tops where all the bowlers will be in the game longer.”

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