The highly-anticipated Test series between India and Australia finally got underway in Nagpur on Thursday (February 9). The series will see the clash of modern cricket legends Virat Kohli and Steve Smith. The form of both cricketers will most probably decide the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2023.
Virat Kohli is a fiery competitor, loves the rivalry against Australia, and will look to put on a show on home soil, on the other hand, former Australian captain Steve Smith will look for his first away series win against India.
In speaking to the Hindustan times ahead of the series opener Smith dismissed the sense of competition between him and Kohli:
“No, I don’t think so. I’m not sure whether he thinks there is or not. I’m not entirely sure that I certainly feel like. We just go out and play the game and try and do the best for our team”
He further added that his main goal for him is to score runs and help cause of team success
“Yeah, hopefully, score some runs along the way to help us have success. That’s the main goal for me. I don’t feel like I’m batting against anyone or anything like that and trying to compare myself to any other batters. I just wanna go out there and do my job and hopefully help the team have success,” smith added
Steve Smith heaped praise on Virat Kohli as he is one of the best batters to watch when he gets going and has been an amazing player for India in all formats over a period of time.
“I think the way he’s able to take the bowlers on, really put them under pressure. I think that’s a huge strength of his. He scored runs all around the world. His ability is to score on both sides of the wicket. He’s patient when he needs to be and he’s been an amazing player for a very long time in all formats of the game. So, hopefully, for us, this series, he doesn’t score too many. But you know, when he gets going, he is one of the best batters to watch in the world,”
Both Australia and India are in contention for the WTC finals and a positive result for either side will help them to book a berth for the summit clash in England.
