“Will be very keen to dominate” – Matthew Hayden looking forward to seeing Virat Kohli and Steve Smith in Border-Gavaskar Trophy

Former Australian opener Matthew Hayden is looking forward to seeing Virat Kohli and Steve Smith in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar trophy. Kohli and Smith will hold the key for India and Australia respectively in the forthcoming series.

Smith has a fantastic record against India and he has always been a thorn in India’s flesh in all conditions. The right-hander has scored 2042 runs in 19 Test matches against India at an impressive average of 65.87, including nine centuries. It will be interesting to note Smith’s batting position as he has opened the innings for Australia in the last four Test matches.

On the other hand, Virat Kohli has scored 2042 runs in 25 Test matches against Australia at an average of 47.48, including eight centuries.

Speaking to PTI on the sidelines of Ceat Rating awards, “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. 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.”

Meanwhile, Yashasvi Jaiswal will also hold the key for India in the series against Australia. Jaiswal amassed 712 runs in the five Test matches against England at an average of 89 and he is going to hold the key at the top of the order in the Australian conditions.

Speaking on Jaiswal, Hayden said, “Isn’t it great that the series is shaping up the bare-heavyweight bout, someone like the GOAT going after , what is in my opinion one of the key assets for Indian cricket. Yes he’s certainly proving to be that. Young Jaiswal is an exciting prospect to see how he’ll play.”

“He is a package. His ability in particular to get on the up through the covers is phenomenal. That’ll also have its vulnerabilities. I’m looking forward to seeing how he adjusts on bouncy tracks.”

The opening Test match between India and Australia will be played at Perth from November 22 onwards.