Virat Kohli vs Steve Smith: Michael Vaughan Predicts Key Battle for Border-Gavaskar Trophy

Virat Kohli vs Steve Smith: Vaughan accepted that the Border-Gavaskar Trophy outcome will once again depend upon the performance of both teams's number fours- Virat Kohli and Steve Smith.

Former England skipper Michael Vaughan claimed that again, it would be Steve Smith versus Virat Kohli battle which is going to influence the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Australia are quite desperate to win a Test series against India which they failed to do in the past decade.

The reigning World Test Champions have lost two home Border-Gavaskar series, which dent their dominant legacy as hosts.

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Meanwhile, pressure is building up on the Asian Giants. With the loss of a home Test series against New Zealand, it has become tough for them to qualify for the WTC final. India are to beat Australia 4-0 in five matches to qualify for the WTC final for the third straight time.

The Asian Giants are under pressure as well after losing a home Test series to New Zealand, which has made things tricky for them to qualify for the World Test Championship final.

India need to beat Australia 4-0 in five matches to qualify for the WTC final for the third consecutive time.

Vaughan, who is highly vocal about his thoughts, feels that Smith came across as quite calm and composed in the ODI series against Pakistan and it can be truly seen in his eyes that he has got the rhythm back and would be raring to win the BGT.

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Meanwhile, former England captain also felt that Indian batting maestro Kohli enjoys batting in Australia which will boost his morale.

But Kohli has always maintained that when he lands in Australia, he knows that this is a place he has had huge amounts of success, he added.

Kohli and Smith seem to enjoy batting against each other's teams, and their records speak for themselves.

Indian star played 25 Tests against Australia and scored 2042 runs at an average of 47.48, with eight centuries and five fifties in 424 innings.

He has been a backbone of India's dominance over the Aussies in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in the last decade. India have won the last four series of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, with two series wins in both home and away conditions.

Smith, incidentally, has amassed the same total of runs against India in Test matches—19 Tests at an incredible average of 65.87—but in less games than Kohli.

The performance of both teams' number four hitters will once again determine the outcome of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Vaughan admitted.

“You could argue which of the number fours has the biggest series could be the deciding factor of the whole series. I think 15 to 20 years ago, I think you had to arrive in Australia and think about getting 500 in the first things,” he said.

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