New Delhi: After humbling England, India will have another challenge this February-March against Australia, when the two top-ranked teams play in a four-match Test series.
It's expected to be one tight contest between top ranked teams. And making it more interesting will be the duels between firebrand individuals like Virat Kohli, David Warner, Ravinchandran Ashwin and not to forget Aussie fast bowlers, who always have something extra to make any contest little more spicy.
But the focus will be on Kohli, who has a history against the Aussies.
Since taking over the captaincy reigns, the Indian skipper has managed to carry himself with creditable control build on respect for and obeisance of his opponents. But Aussies are an altogether different breed, to say the least. And Kohli's many run-ins with them, more or less, have stemmed from instigation rather than the demands from a healthy contests.
This time, the contest is expected to be a hot one.
The just concluded England series have seen India dominating the visitors in every aspect, but the series against Australia will be different, at least in the non-cricketing terms. And if reports are to believed, Australia have already devised their plans, including the one on Kohli.
Aussie captain Steve Smith himself admitted to get Kohli a little bit angry". That's the least they can do to beat 'unbeaten' India at home. And it comes with a rider. Whenever Aussies managed to incite Kohli, they end up getting the best out of Indian captain. That's why Michael Hussey warned the Aussies not to antagonise him.
Kohli has played some of his best Test knocks against the Aussies, majority of those coming when India were down. In fact, it was the last series Down Under which shaped the present Kohli as we know today. The real competitor.
How he took on former Aussie fast bowler Mitchell Johnson can be a case study in his many duels with the Aussies.
Here are some videos, including the ones in which Kohli was involved in 'fights': The series will start on February 23 with the first Test in Pune. Bangalore, Ranchi and Dharmasala will host remaining three matches.
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