Former Pakistani great Zaheer Abbas advised his country's cricketers to stick to the crease at all costs if they wanted to put pressure on India in the Test opener at Mohali February 28.
"Glue yourselves to the Indian pitches to the extent that they'll have to call police to budge you from there and score big in the first Test to gain a psychological advantage," The News on Wednesday quoted Abbas as saying.
"My advice is to use your skill and don't give away wickets. The team that wins the first Test in Mohali will gain the advantage," he said.
Resolute batting would be vital to the outcome of the series, said Abbas, who was termed the Asian Bradman in his heyday.
Abbas played 78 Tests for Pakistan, scoring 5,062 runs at a healthy average of 44.79. His record on Indian pitches however comes a cropper with just 313 runs in 12 innings.
He emphasised that Sachin Tendulkar would be the Indian lynchpin and the hosts' batting would revolve around the master blaster. Sachin is on a comeback trail after an elbow injury.
{{/usCountry}}He emphasised that Sachin Tendulkar would be the Indian lynchpin and the hosts' batting would revolve around the master blaster. Sachin is on a comeback trail after an elbow injury.
{{/usCountry}}"For me, Tendulkar's appearance will be vital as he is the binding force of the Indian batting," Abbas said.
"Tendulkar's loss would be bigger than Pakistan's loss of Shoaib Akhtar," he said, referring to the hamstring injury that prompted the Pakistani fast bowler to pull out from the Test series.
He advocated practice as the only antidote as the Pakistani batsmen would face a huge challenge from spin twins Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh.
Agreeing that India are favourites, Abbas prodded the Pakistanis to exploit the home pressure on Sourav Ganguly's team.
"Pakistan are a little weak but if they exploit the pressure of the home expectations on India, our team can surprise India," he contended.
India claimed the Test series 2-1 and the one dayers 3-2 on last year's tour.