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Cricket Players'When Virat Kohli comes out to bat...': Gillespie's potential game-changing advice to Australia ahead of India Tests
The two stars of their respective teams have often clashed in the past but with the Australia captain being in the form of his life in Tests, and Kohli trying to get his back, Pat Cummins vs Virat Kohli will be THE contest to watch out for.
The upcoming India vs Australia Test series will not only witness two of the strongest teams in world cricket battling out for supremacy but what makes this faceoff even more mouth-watering is the number of individual clashes that will be up for grabs. R Ashwin vs Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Hazlewood to Rohit Sharma, Cameron Green bowling against Suryakumar Yadav and Nathan Lyon having a go at Cheteshwar Pujara are just some of the mouth-watering contests that will highlight the four-Test series. However, if there is one contest that promises to stand head and toes above the rest is that between Virat Kohli and Pat Cummins. The two stars of their respective teams have often clashed in the past but with the Australia captain being in the form of his life in Tests, and Kohli trying to get his back, Cummins vs Kohli will be THE contest to watch out for, feels former pacer Jason Gillespie.
Cummins has tasted reasonable success against Kohli, dismissing the former India captain nine times in international cricket across formats. Having said that, Kohli has not bogged down against Cummins either, as his strike rate of 94 suggests. Cummins has often trapped Kohli with that outside off-stump line, and Gillespie expects the Australia captain to have a go at Virat and not allow him time to get himself in.
"I am really looking forward to seeing (Virat) Kohli vs Cummins. That's a fantastic match-up. It will be interesting to see how they go. When Virat comes out to bat, I would love to see Cummins take the ball and go at him straightaway. That will be great theatre, two wonderful cricketers at the top of their game," Gillespie told Hindustan Times in a chat.
Cummins and Hazlewood will have to share the bulk of Australia's fast-bowling duties with Mitchell Starc ruled out of the first Test. Australia have strengthened their stock with Mitchell Swepson and Todd Murphy supporting Lyon in a three-pronged attack. The last time Australia toured India, Steve O Keefe ran the home team ragged picking up 12 wickets in the first Test in Pune, and while this time around too spin is expected to dominate, Gillespie has not counted out the probability of Australia pacers troubling Indian batters.
"Starc is obviously a left-armer and does get it to reverse very late. But Hazlewood and Cummins are equally good. They can all have a real impact with the old ball. Watch out for Green too. He can be a really awkward customer for the Indian batsmen. I think we will see the ball reverse swinging in this series," he added.
