The upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy starting from Thursday is expected to be full of individual battles. Besides the two nations taking on each other, the focus will be on several duels between players - R Ashwin vs Steve Smith, Pat Cummins vs Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja vs Marnus Labuschagne, Pat Cummins vs Rohit Sharma and so on.
Considering the fierce rivalry and what's at stake, the highly anticipated series is expected to be a hot contest; and controversial statements by several former Australian cricketers like Ian Healy, have already set the tone even before the first ball being bowled.
Ahead of the first Test match between India and Australia, former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif has sounded a warning bell for talismanic India batter Virat Kohli. On his YouTube channel, Latif cautioned Kohli about the threat from Cummins who has dismissed him five times in six matches.
"Pat Cummins has really troubled Kohli by dismissing him five times in six games. He may not have such domination against any other batter. The way he angles the ball in and then manages to take it away will trouble batters like Kohli and Babar Azam. So this is definitely a battle to watch out for and Cummins will be a threat whether the ball is new or reversing," said Latif.
{{/usCountry}}"Pat Cummins has really troubled Kohli by dismissing him five times in six games. He may not have such domination against any other batter. The way he angles the ball in and then manages to take it away will trouble batters like Kohli and Babar Azam. So this is definitely a battle to watch out for and Cummins will be a threat whether the ball is new or reversing," said Latif.
{{/usCountry}}India are currently placed second on the World Test Championship (WTC) table. Rohit Sharma and Co. will need to win the series by an optimum margin to qualify for the final. Visitors Australia, on the other hand, are at the top of the points table but they are also yet to qualify for the final.
The first Test match between the two teams will start from Thursday, February 09 at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur.