India vs Pakan: When Babar Azam’s cover drive made Sachin Tendulkar gush in praise | Cricket-world-cup News
In India’s cricket match against Pakan at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, as Pakan’s Babar Azam strode towards his half-century, there was a shot from him that caught even the eye of the Little Master Sachin Tendulkar and made him gush in praise of the Pakan captain. Babar was dismissed for 50 runs after being bowled a Mohammed Siraj delivery, but not before hitting one of the best shots of the game.
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The Indian cricket legend was in the commentary box with Ravi Shastri and Waqar Younis for a brief stint during the first innings where Pakan were batting. Shastri was taking Tendulkar down memory lane, asking about facing the Pakani pace battery in Pakan as a 16-year-old.
Meanwhile, on the pitch, while batting against Shardul Thakur in the 19th over of the innings, Babar played a crisp cover drive while batting on 25. Shardul had offered him a bit of room. Babar, known for his cover drives, obliged and freed his arms and essayed a regal cover-drive on the rise. Most Read
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The shot delighted one of the finest executioners of the stroke, Tendulkar, in the commentary box. “Look at the extension of the arms, lovely. I thought he was beautifully balanced,” he said.
Tendulkar then dwelled on an often-unseen aspect of the stroke: “Everyone talks of the top hand when cover-driving. The high-elbow winking at the skies and all. But the bottom hand plays an equally important role. Look how it goes in the direction of the ball. Beautiful,” he said.
Not surprisingly, there is a video posted the ICC on their social media handles where a bunch of Pakan players and a few other cricketers are asked of the first player they think of when they hear the term, ‘cover drive’. The answer more often than not was ‘Babar Azam’.
