Wednesday 24 / April / 2024
Sitting pretty in Melbourne a month and a half ago fresh from winning three Test matches in a row—one against South Africa and two against Pakistan — Steve Smith was virile about sledging Virat Kohli. This month, as he landed in Mumbai with his mates for a four-Test series against India, the Australian skipper was sedate about it. There could be more than one reason for Smith’s transformation from being bullish to diplomatic in a couple of months, ranging from personal experiences to words of wisdom dished out by players past and present.
Smith said after an innings victory against Pakistan at MCG on December 26 that he was ready to make Kohli “a bit angry, ruffle his feathers and things like that”, but the tone he chose upon landing in Mumbai earlier this month was one of restraint. The mates will have free rein to sledge Kohli, but the offer has small print: go for it — if they want to get into a battle verbally and if that gets the best out of them. It’s now a matter of individual choice and not a collective policy.
The implied meaning is simple: I am not telling you to get into a chat with Kohli and get smashed all round the ground; I’m not asking you to thumb your nose at Kohli and then end up walking off the field with a bloodied nose.
The Australian skipper seems to have no clues on how to go about stopping Kohli from scoring big runs or how to get into a bit of conversation with the Indian skipper in the middle to distract him.
One guy who relished doing it was Mitchell Johnson, but the big man has retired from international cricket and, after failing to get the better of Kohli even from the sidelines, he is unlikely to taunt the Indian anytime soon or until he sees the right opportunity. Remember Johnson’s “Love it!! Went missing in WC semi last yr when it really counts” tweet on the eve of the crucial group match between the two teams in the 2016 T20 World Championship that sought to make a snotty reference to Kohli’s failure in the 2015 World Cup match against Australia? The former fast bowler was left with egg on his face as Kohli’s unbeaten 82 had blown Australia out of the competition.
Another guy who could do it is someone who would take the field with Smith at Pune, but it is unlikely that Mitchell Starc would get up, close and personal with Kohli between the 22 yards. Kohli and Starc share a healthy respect for each other and, more importantly, Starc is unlikely to ruffle the feathers of his teammate and skipper at the Royal Challengers Bangalore at a time when the Indian Premier League 2017 is just a few weeks away. Starc would pitch the ball short, Kohli would try to pull and miss and both might exchange a stare, but it’s all likely to end up in a bit of a smile, not in the kind of self-destructive anger Smith would hope to infect Kohli with.
David Warner has a reputation for letting his tongue wag, but recent tweets suggest even the chirpy slip fielder may not be quite as good against Kohli as he used to be against others. Warner has expressed his admiration for the kind of cricket and the awesome results Kohli has been able to conjure up, and such genuine respect might stop him from coming up with the nasty ones that could upset the Indian.
Australian reluctance or unwillingness to get verbal with Kohli has been expressed by Glenn Maxwell as soon as Smith gave his nod to sledging Kohli. Maxwell is “not going to say a thing” to Kohli. Rather, he is resigned to the idea of bad luck or an unfortunate event, like a run-out. That certainly is not the game plan that could put a smile on Smith’s face.
A year ago, Smith was at the receiving end even without actually sledging Kohli. When Kohli took a catch and indulged in an animated celebration that seemed to have told Smith to shut his mouth, it was popularly viewed as Kohli’s taking objection to Smith’s onfield commentary for Channel Nine. We got to know later what had made Kohli angry. Smith was having a go at Hardik Pandya who was making his T20 debut and the send-off was Kohli’s way of giving it back. The Australians cannot hope to leave Kohli alone and target others, because Kohli is going to stand up for everyone under his command.
The way to win the contest against Kohli is not really by being verbal, as Allan Border and Mike Hussey would remind Smith, but by bowling consistently outside off stump: close enough to put a doubt in the mind of the batsman that eventually would end up in a nick. Starc and Josh Hazlewood are very good at it, and not just Kohli but the entire the Indian top order is vulnerable in this zone. Starc’s ability and reputation for mopping up the tail is awesome, so guys like Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja might find the goings tough.
Recent failures in Asia do not count much against Australia because India would bring the best out of them. At stake for Kohli is an opportunity for a perfect finish to the wonderful home season that could open up fresh challenges, like trying to go one up on the West Indies whose reign was the longest with 27 Test matches without defeat. For Smith, it’s a chance to carry home a load of memories they could feel nostalgic about for quite some time.
Australia’s are no more the world conquerors they were in 2004 to talk about breaching again any final frontier. The roles are getting reversed and India under Kohli could soon have a map of the world with a final frontier marked out to roll their tanks into.
The question at the moment is: will that be Australia?
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The writer is a freelance contributor based in India. All the views and opinions expressed in the article are solely those of the author and do not reflect those of Times of Oman
