Former South Africa skipper AB de Villiers feels that India skipper Virat Kohli tops legendary batsman Sachin Tendulkar when it comes to chasing under pressure.
“…I personally feel that Kohli is the best when it comes to run-chases. Tendulkar was amazing in all situations, but in terms of chasing under pressure, Virat tops him. No target is safe when Virat is batting,” de Villiers, who called time on his international in 2018, said during an Instagram live chat with Pommie Mbangwa as quoted by Times of India.
Widely regarded as the ‘Chase Master’, Kohli has bettered Tendulkar in terms of stats while chasing a target.
Tendulkar scored 5490 runs at an average of 55.45 across 124 innings in successful ODI run chases during his entire career while Virat Kohli has already amassed 5388 runs at an average of 96.21 across 86 innings in the matches where he has helped India reach the target.
De Villiers added that the former India cricketer is a role model for both Kohli and him.
“Tendulkar has been a role model for both of us, the way he stood out in his era and the things he achieved with grace is a great example for any youngster to follow. Kohli will also say that he’s (Tendulkar) the main guy and he set the standards,” said the Protea.
The only Indian sportsperson to be given the Bharat Ratna honour, Tendulkar, has scored 34,357 international runs across all the three formats – 18,426 in ODIs and 15,921 in Tests. Apart from this, he is the only batsman to score 100 international centuries (51 Tests and 49 ODIs).