Sunil Gavaskar urges Virat Kohli to 'quickly' dial Sachin Tendulkar after Leeds dismissal

Team India skipper Virat Kohli's poor run in the ongoing England vs India Test series continued after he was sent back to the pavilion by veteran pacer James Anderson for just seven runs to his name on Day 1 of the third Test at Headingley, Leeds. It is to mention that this is the seventh time Anderson has succeeded in getting Kohli's number in the longest format of the game and the second time in this series. In fact, Anderson had dismissed the batting megastar for a golden duck in the first innings of the opening Test match at Nottingham.

Now, after Kohli's poor performance, Sunil Gavaskar has urged him to seek guidance of none other than cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar.

Sunil Gavaskar urges Virat Kohli to call Sachin Tendulkar

“He should give a quick call to SRT (Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar) and ask what should I do?" said Sunil Gavaskar on air.

At the same time, Gavaskar also urged Kohli not to get carried away by the balls that are bowled outside the off-stump, especially the fourth & the fifth stump lines. Apart from that, the 1983 World Cup winner also urged the Indian skipper to practice what his idol Tendulkar had done during the 2003/04 tour of Australia. 

Tendulkar had a poor series but eventually found success in the series-deciding fourth Test match at the Sydney Cricket Ground where he scored 241. 

“That is a bit of a worry for me because he is getting dismissed at the fifth, sixth, and even seventh stump. In 2014, he was getting out more around the off-stump," Gavaskar added.

"Do what Sachin Tendulkar did at Sydney. Say to himself that I am not going to play the cover drive," the batting legend further added.

Virat Kohli's batting performance

Kohli, who had amassed 593 runs in 10 innings when the Indian team had visited England in 2018 now seems to be a pale shadow of himself as the 'Captain Fearless' has only managed to score 69 runs in three innings with scores of 42 & 20 in the second Test match at Lord's. In the first Test at Nottingham, Kohli had failed to trouble the scorers in the first innings and did not bat in the second.

England vs India: A forgettable day for the visitors

The coin landed in Kohli's favor and he chose to bat first. Nonetheless, it was a good toss to lose for England as James Anderson made the new ball talk straightaway as he dismissed opener KL Rahul for a duck in the very first over before breaching number three batsman Cheteshwar Pujara's defence and then having captain Kohli caught behind. 

Rohit Sharma and Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane were then involved in a 35-run stand for the fourth wicket before the latter was caught behind by Jos Buttler off Ollie Robinson for 18 at the stroke of lunch as India reeled at 56/4.

Things were no different for the Indian batsmen even after the lunch break as they failed to rediscover their rhythm and were eventually skittled for a paltry 78. Rohit Sharma top-scored for the visitors with 19.

England in reply are 120/0 and enjoyed a 42-run lead at stumps on Day 1.