Akash Chopra recalls how Sachin Tendulkar’s advice helped Virat Kohli after horrendous England tour in 2014

Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar share a special bond that can be compared to a ‘guru-shishya’ relation. Kohli was in awe of Tendulkar when he made his debut for India in 2008 and was the one to suggest lifting the great man on shoulders for a victory lap after India defeated Sri Lanka in the final of the 2011 World Cup in Mumbai.

Kohli has also admitted that he often consults with Sachin Tendulkar when it comes to sorting out problems with his batting and more often than not, his tips and tricks have helped the current Indian captain a lot. Former India opener Aakash Chopra recalled one such incident during commentary in the first ODI between India and New Zealand at Seddon Park, Hamilton.

Sachin’s advice helped Virat Kohli play the cover drive better, reveals Chopra

The discussion took place while Chopra and Harbhajan Singh were discussing how Virat Kohli gets close to the ball while playing the drive. Hamish Bennett was bowling in the 27th over of the Indian innings and the Indian captain walked towards the ball, took out a long stride and caressed it through covers.

This led to the former India opener telling an incident on how Kohli was looking for guidance about his game after the horror tour to England in 2014. He sought out Sachin Tendulkar and the little master asked Kohli to take a long stride, while playing the drive, much in the same way, he meets the ball pitched up by a spinner.

This enabled the 31-year-old to keep the bat close to his body and be in control of the drives even when he is playing on the up. He since then has displayed the shot numerous times in all the formats of the game. He hit his 58th ODI fifty in Hamilton ODI but was bowled by Ish Sodhi immediately after.

Iyer scored his maiden ODI ton and KL Rahul slammed a quick-fire 88* to take India to 347 runs in 50 overs. However, the total wasn’t enough after Henry Nicholls and Tom Latham played brilliant innings, scoring half-centuries and helping Ross Taylor, who hit a brilliant 109*, take New Zealand past the finishing line with four wickets in hand in the last over.