'Giving respect to his masters shows how disciplined he is' - Mohammad Kaif lauds Virat Kohli's gesture for Sachin Tendulkar

Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif spoke on the impact of Virat Kohli’s 50th century and highlighted how he continues to respect his idol Sachin Tendulkar. Kohli, who reached to the milestone 50th ODI century in India's 70-run win over New Zealand in the ODI World Cup semi-final, bowed down to Tendulkar following his celebratory leap. 

“Look after the 2011 World Cup Virat carried his guru Sachin Tendulkar on his shoulders saying, Sachin’s carried the burden of the nation for 21 years, and it’s now our time to do the same for him. After winning that World Cup is where his journey started. And now on that very same ground, he’s broken Sachin’s record in front of Sachin himself, and after breaking the record Virat also acknowledged Sachin and even went down on his knees to pay respects to the his hero and the master of the game. This shows the nature and character of Virat Kohli," Kaif said.

"He’s a big player himself, but being a good human and giving due respect to his masters shows how disciplined he is. Also what makes this knock memorable is the stage on which he’s got it. There were conversations that his record in knockouts is not great, but he’s answered everyone by scoring a century, and ensuring that India qualifies for the finals,” he added.

Kaif also commented on the impact created Rohit’s aggressive approach with the bat while opening the innings.

“Rohit’s gameplan this entire tournament has been to attack the bowlers, while targeting to hit a couple of boundaries in the very first over and put the opposition under pressure from the outset. The bowlers usually plan to try and swing the new ball and try to get the batter out while he’s not set-in, but Rohit’s attitude makes him look like he’s set-in even before the first ball is bowled. He knows he is the leader and he has to set the tone from which the team can come in and follow on. And if you look at the stats, Rohit has hit a boundary in the first over of every game this tournament, helping the team set the tone. He’s also been receiving praise for his performances as the role he’s playing is a tough one to fulfill. He’s scoring 70-100 runs in the power play, and setting the platform for players like Kohli and Iyer, so I am all praises for Rohit.”

Meanwhile, Indian pacer Mohammad Shami, who has been one of the biggest match-winners for the team in the World Cup, explained his approach to bowling.

“I always look at what the situation is, how the pitch and the ball are behaving and if the ball is swinging or not, and if the ball is not swinging I try and bowl stump to stump while trying to land it in a zone where the ball can catch an edge of the batters are driving," he said.