Indian batting stalwart Virat Kohli and Australia’s Steve Smith are poised to dominate the upcoming Border-Gavaskar series, where runs will be “at a premium,” according to Australian great Matthew Hayden.
Hayden, considered one of the finest openers of his era, believes that both Kohli and Smith possess unique styles of dominance and will play pivotal roles in determining the outcome of the series Down Under.
“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,” Hayden said.
“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.”
India and Australia will play a five-Test series for the first time since 1991-92, starting November 22 at Perth. Hayden emphasized that it’s difficult to predict which team has the edge.
“You look at the lineups, and it’s hard to really tell who has the edge. I sense that it’s going to be runs that are going to be the point of difference. Guys that are sure bets have retired like (Cheteshwar) Pujara was a sure bet in Australian conditions,” he said.
“Was he exciting? No. Was he effective? Heck, yes. When you look back over the years, guys like Raul Dravid, VVS Laxman… they were really sure bets in our market. The best need to stand up in this series, runs are going to be at a premium,” he added.
Hayden believes that Australian players will be eager to end their barren run against India, having last won a bilateral series in 2014-15.
“We haven’t had it (the trophy) in our hands for two series in Australia, which is kind of the coveted grounds. Not that’s similar to the Steve Waugh era here in 2001, where this was the hallowed turf, this was a place where Australia really wanted to come and win,” he said.
“And his great era didn’t do it. There’s always this fantastic opportunity for the No. 1 (and) No. 2 sides on the World Test Championship to go head to head, especially abroad in each other’s camps and see who really has those kinds of final rights…”
“…to claim not only the possibility of playing the (World) Test Championship (final) but also who’s the very best of the best, which you judge on how you tour, not so much how you play at home,” he said.
Hayden also commented on the upcoming battle between Nathan Lyon and young Indian opener Yashasvi Jaiswal.
“Isn’t it great that the series is shaping up the bare-heavyweight bout, someone like the GOAT (Lyon) going after (Jaiswal), what is in my opinion one of the key assets for Indian cricket. Yes he’s certainly proving to be that,” he said.
Hayden acknowledged Jaiswal’s exceptional ability to hit on the up through covers but cautioned that he may need to adjust to the length of the boundaries in Australia.
“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,” Hayden said.
“I’m looking forward to seeing how he adjusts on bouncy tracks. We did notice in the IPL that he’s a very hard hitter of the ball, pull shots in particular, but that’ll be challenged by three world-class speedsters, assuming they’re all fit and on much bigger grounds.”
“It has to almost be the perfect contact for that ball to sail over (for a) six so you can get caught easily, three-quarters of the way in the fence. They (all) have little adjustments that world-class players like Jazzy (Jaiswal) will make for sure,” he added.
Hayden also expressed his concerns about Australia’s opening slot following David Warner’s retirement from international cricket.
“For the first time, it (opening slot) doesn’t feel as secure. David Warner gave a great service to Australian cricket. He gave a service that was extremely competitive, wonderfully dynamic,” he said.
“He really took that legacy that I’d created through the 2000s to a new level, strike rates in excess of 80, and gave great momentum to the top order, which otherwise is quite conservative. He’s an enormous loss in terms of how do you replace him,” Hayden added.
Hayden expressed reservations about Smith emerging as a choice for the opener’s slot, given his successful track record at No. 4.
“I was on record saying that I didn’t like changing. I think it’s crazy to think that you have the world’s best-in-class batter in a certain position and then you change to a completely different position,” he said.
