The anticipation around the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy is palpable. India are Australia are slated to square off in a five-match Test series for the first time in over three decades.
The marquee series is likely to throw a healthy competition between two contemporary batting legends – Virat Kohli and Steve Smith.
Kohli loves the rivalry against Australia and he is expected to play a key role in the series. In 25 Tests and 44 innings, Virat has aggregated 2042 runs versus Australia at an average of 47.48 with eight hundreds and five half-centuries.
On the other hand, Smith will look to carry his dominance in the longest format against India. He has 2042 runs to his name from 19 Tests against India at an incredible average of 52.50, including nine tons and five half-centuries.
With three months left for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Australian legend Matthew Hayden has suggested that Kohli and Smith’s performances will be crucial in determining the outcome of the series Down Under.
"Cricket is a game of momentum and I'm sure those two players, coming now to the later pages of their cricketing careers, will be very keen to dominate the landscape through the summer," Hayden said, as quoted by PTI, on the sidelines of the CEAT Cricket Rating Awards on Wednesday (August 21).
"That's their nature. They do it in very different ways, very different styles, but certainly they really are the key to the Australian summer," he added.
The highly-anticipated series is slated to get underway on November 22 in Perth and the action will then shift to Adelaide, where both teams will face each other in a Day-Night Test. The last three Tests are set to take place in Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney.
When asked to predict the outcome of this series, Hayden said it will be a challenging task as both teams appear evenly matched.
"You look at the lineups, and it's hard to really tell who has the edge. I sense that it's going to be runs that are going to be the point of difference. Guys that are sure bets have retired, like (Cheteshwar) Pujara was a sure bet in Australian conditions," Hayden remarked.
"Was he exciting? No. Was he effective? Heck, yes. When you look back over the years, guys like Raul Dravid, VVS Laxman... they were really sure bets in our market. The best need to stand up in this series, runs are going to be at a premium," he further stated.
Hayden also mentioned that Pat Cummins and his men will be determined to end the Border-Gavaskar Trophy drought, having last won it in 2014-15.
"We haven't had it (the trophy) in our hands for two series in Australia, which is kind of the coveted grounds. Not that's similar to the Steve Waugh era here in 2001, where this was the hallowed turf, this was a place where Australia really wanted to come and win," Hayden said.
"And his great era didn't do it. There's always this fantastic opportunity for the No. 1 (and) No. 2 sides on the World Test Championship to go head to head, especially abroad in each other's camps and see who really has those kinds of final rights...
"...to claim not only the possibility of playing the (World) Test Championship (final) but also who's the very best of the best, which you judge on how you tour, not so much how you play at home," he continued.
(With PTI Inputs)
