Sachin Tendulkar Snubbed As South Africa Great Picks 'Top 3 Greatest Batters'. One Indian Named

Legendary South Africa batter Hashim Amla picked Virat Kohli, AB De Villiers and Vivian Richards as the 'Top 3 greatest batters'. During an interview on Star Sports, Amla revealed that his favourites used to be Steve Waugh, Jacques Kallis and Brian Lara. However, when asked to give his current list, he excluded both Lara and India legend Sachin Tendulkar to include Virat Kohli instead.  "There are so many great players over the years. Growing up, my three favourite players were Brian Lara, Steve Waugh, and Jacques Kallis, being from South Africa. But now, I'd pick three other names-Virat Kohli in recent times, AB de Villiers, and one more from the old days, Sir Vivian Richards."

Earlier, former England quick Steve Harmison believes that if India had its batting maestro Virat Kohli in its final XI against his former side at Lord's, the visitors would have gunned down the target and soared to a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.

After the end of the three days of pulsating contest, India and England remained inseparable, with both posting 387 each in the first innings. India's spirited bowling forced England to be bundled out for 192, which raised hopes of the touring party taking a lead for the first time in the series.

However, England's speedsters left India gobsmacked with their blistering pace and flattened those ambitions in a whisker. At the end of the penultimate day, India were reeling at 58/4. In the opening hour of the final day, tearaway Jofra Archer and captain Ben Stokes rubbed salt on India's wounds and left them threadbare at 82/7.

Nitish Kumar Reddy resisted for a bit but gave away a faint edge to wicketkeeper Jamie Smith off Chris Woakes. Ravindra Jadeja batted his heart out with tail-enders Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah, but the battle they waged ended in vain as England scripted a 22-run triumph. Harmison felt that if India had its 'chase master' and former Test batter Virat, the result would have completely turned around.

"India has scored more hundreds, more top-order runs, and more new ball wickets, but England has got a knack of finding a way to win. Finding a way of creating an event throughout a session to change the course of the game. For me, India has to start believing. This is where the likes of Virat Kohli were unbelievable. In a fourth innings chase, he goes and wins the game comfortably. He would have won that game comfortably at Lord's," Harmison said in ESPNcricinfo Match Day.

(With ANI inputs)

Topics mentioned in this article

Sachin Tendulkar Hashim Amla Virat Kohli Cricket