Former all-rounder Shane Watson has advised the Australian team to avoid getting into confrontations with Virat Kohli in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy as he feels the intensity the celebrated Indian batter derives from provocations brings the best out of him. Going through a lean run of form, Kohli has enjoyed great success in Australia in the past and will look to regain his touch in the five-match Test series, which gets underway on Friday at the Optus Stadium here.
Provoking the Indian batting mainstay has often proved to be counterproductive for the Australians, and Watson has experienced it himself.
“The one thing that I know of Virat is… because the fire burns so brightly and deep inside him, the intensity he brings to every ball that he is engaged in a game has been superhuman,” Watson was quoted as saying on the Willow Talk podcast.
“But, there have been in recent times where moments in this career that fire has started to go out because it is just so hard to maintain that intensity in every moment he is involved in a game.
“And, that is where Australia have to leave him alone and hope he doesn’t bring the intensity — nine out of 10 intensity — to every ball.” Kohli has played 13 Tests in Australia since 2011, amassing 1,352 runs at an average of 54.08, including six centuries and four fifties, with a top score of 169.
While this would be his fifth tour Down Under in the longest format, Kohli’s best outing came during the 2014-15 series when he aggregated 692 runs in four Tests at an average of 86.50, including four hundreds and a half-century.
These remarkable numbers are not lost on Watson.
“We have seen that when he has had success in Australia, he is up and above for everything in the middle. Every ball he is up for every single moment.
“You can see the fierce intensity that he brings, and if he gets that, then it shuts everything else out. That is when he is at his absolute best.
“If there is stuff happening around and that intensity is not there, that is when you will see the not-so-best version of Virat. So from an Australian perspective, let’s hope we get to see that version of him,” Watson said.
Kohli’s performance in the red-ball format this year has been below par, managing just 70 runs in six Tests at an average of 22.72.
‘Smith wasn’t actually batting at his best as an opener’
When the discussion turned to Australian batting, Watson backed Steve Smith to bring the very best of him against the formidable Indian bowling attack.
Smith will be back at his usual number four slot after struggling as opener following the retirement of David Warner.
“Steve wanted to open. He was super keen to take up a new challenge. But, one thing with that opportunity he had was he wasn’t actually batting at his best at that time,” Watson noted.
“So, he got an opportunity to open, and Steve Smith at his very best would have made the most out of it because he just loves scoring runs, whether it is opening or at No. 4. You could see it a few times he got out when he was opening – his game and his technique was a little bit off.” For the marquee series against fierce rivals India, the Australian selectors have picked 25-year-old uncapped Nathan McSweeney to open the innings alongside Usman Khawaja.
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