TRULY MASSIVE FOR SMITH
YOU could well call it Sachin v Ponting Part II.
The mouth-watering clash of Test cricket’s modern-day batting titans Virat Kohli and Steve Smith will light up and likely determine the fate of this blockbuster series.
As captains there are things Kohli and Smith won’t be able to control when the first Test kicks off in Pune on Thursday.
But as batsmen, they possess a rare power to turn an entire match with the flash of their blade.
Kohli, who boasts a double century in each of his past four Test series, and an average of 80.94 over the past 12 months, has morphed into the second coming of Tendulkar, according to Australian Test great Mark Taylor – ominous timing for a touring side about to lob on his doorstep.
Of course Kohli’s brash swagger and eye of the tiger zeal contrasts with Tendulkar’s outwardly modest veneer, but when the 28-year-old Indian captain unleashes out in the middle it’s with the same devastating result as the Little Master.
Smith’s rise has been just as remarkable as Kohli’s, and the fact it has been sustained over a much longer period of time, with his career average of 60.15, gives Australia hope that they could achieve the unthinkable in India.
Even if Smith’s quirky, unique style is nothing like Ponting’s, he is on track to break all his records.
History has witnessed few players with the natural ability and clutch execution of Kohli and Smith.
Statistics suggest they’re unstoppable.
But the sharp, wise mind of Taylor knows all too well that such greatness also has the potential to expose an inherent weakness in both teams.
If Australia thinks Steve Smith and David Warner will win them Test matches on their own in India, Taylor warns they’re setting themselves up for an epic fail.
On home soil, Kohli has proven in recent series against England and Bangladesh that he is a force of nature.
However, so overwhelming is the influence he wields in the Indian dressing room, Taylor says Australia must focus on the mental avalanche that could befall his teammates if they can only muzzle their main man.
It’s a big if, but Taylor believes the backlash of the Kohli effect is Australia’s one gateway to pulling off what would go down as one of cricket’s most monumental upsets.
“We played a Test in Bangalore in 1998 and in that Test match I think Sachin got 170odd in the first innings of that game and smashed us everywhere. We didn’t really look like getting him out,” said Taylor. “But all of a sudden in the second innings, we got him a bit cheaper and because you get him cheaper, I think the rest of their team start thinking, ‘well, wow, hang on a minute, this is now up to us.’
“India can be similar this time around.”