Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar on Thursday (June 8) said Steve Smith's century in the first innings of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2023 final against India would fire up Virat Kohli to get a big score.
Smith, who was unbeaten on 95 at the close of play on Day 1, completed his three-figure mark in the very first over of the second day with two successive boundaries off Mohammed Siraj.
Smith went on to score 121 and shared a 285-run partnership with Travis Head (163), propelling Australia to a massive total of 469/10 in the first innings.
"Well, first and foremost, he loves playing against the Australians. He has got a terrific record against the Australians. Now, he has also seen somebody he has always been compared with Steve Smith, Joe Root, Kane Williamson, these are the top batters in the world. Everybody talks about it. He has seen Steve Smith get a hundred. He would definitely want to get a hundred to show 'look he has got it, even I can get it'. That will be his aim at the moment," Gavaskar told Star Sports.
It was Smith's ninth hundred versus India in Test cricket and he also took his tally past 2000 runs against the Asian giants in the longest format of the game.
On the other hand, Kohli needs 21 more runs to complete 2,000 runs against Australia in Tests. The star Indian batter has also hit eight hundreds against Australia in red-ball cricket.
Meanwhile, Gavaskar said he is also keen on watching how Shubman Gill’s batting in the marquee clash.
Gill has taken the cricketing world by storm with his stunning exploits in 2023. The lanky right-hander has slammed five international centuries this year so far, including a double ton in an ODI match against New Zealand.
The 23-year-old has travelled to England for the WTC final on the back of stellar performances in the IPL 2023 season. Playing for Gujarat Titans, he finished the cash-rich tournament as the top run-getter with 890 runs to his name from 17 innings, including three tons and four half-centuries.
"But, of course, before that, there is Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma. Plenty of batting. We are all interested to see how Shubman Gill plays against this attack on this pitch. Even on Day 2, the ball is doing a bit, jumping up," Gavaskar added.
