ICC World Cup 2019 | Pakistan pacers will target Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, says Sachin Tendulkar

India and Pakistan do not play each other in bilateral series and hence, face each other only in ICC tournaments. The two neighbours will face each other once again on June 16 at Manchester and will look to go hard against each other. Pakistan have blown hot and cold in the tournament so far as they were skittled out for 105 against West Indies, then followed it up with an emphatic win over hosts England and lost their previous game against Australia while the game against Sri Lanka was washed out. 

However, the biggest positive for Pakistan would be Mohammad Amir’s return to form. The pacer has scalped the highest ten wickets in three innings so far while Wahab Riaz has picked four. Sachin Tendulkar feels that the duo will put a firm challenge ahead of Indian batsmen Rohit Sharma, who has struck a century and a half-century in the two innings so far, and skipper Virat Kohli, who blasted 82 runs in the previous game.

"Rohit and Virat are the two more experienced players in the lineup and Pakistan would be focussing on getting them early without any doubt as that opens the game for them. Amir and Wahab Riaz will definitely target their wickets early on. But Rohit and Virat should also be looking to play long innings. the plan should be that the rest of the guys play around them," said Tendulkar, reported India Today.

In the encounter between Australia and Pakistan, opener Aaron Finch went on to score 82 runs but was dropped early on in his innings and even knicked quite a few deliveries. He was eventually dismissed by Amir, who returned with his career-best figures of 30/5. Tendulkar feels that the pacer will also look to stifle Rohit in a similar way.

"Yesterday (June 12), his first spell was very accurate. He was hitting the right areas and made Finch's life difficult. I wouldn't go in with a negative mindset of playing dot balls against him. If you get an opportunity, I would encourage India to play their shots and stay positive. It's not about survival but rather going out there and even defend positively. No need to do anything different. We need to be aggressive in all departments. The body language is important - the bowler knows that you're in control if you defend confidently," expressed the legendary cricketer.