Sunil Gavaskar takes a dig at Virat Kohli after Steve Smith's stunning century in Gabba Test

As Steve Smith roars back to form with a stunning century in the ongoing Gabba Test, it could fuel Virat Kohli's drive to regain his form as expected by the former India captain Sunil Gavaskar. Taking a dig at Kohli, Gavaskar said that Kohli now has an added incentive to rediscover his best form.

The legendary Indian cricketer highlighted Steve Smith’s return to form with the bat as a silver lining for Virat Kohli, as he feels the seasoned Australian batter’s resurgence could ignite a fierce competition between the two modern-day greats in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.

Sunil Gavaskar feels Steve Smith's stunning Gabba century will push Virat Kohli to regain his best

Gavaskar believes that the dashing right-hander, who has been struggling to find consistency in Test cricket over the past four to five years, could find new motivation in Smith's return among the runs after the latter smashed a stunning century in the ongoing third Test against India.

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The former Indian captain had a great time in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 in Australia by smashing a century in Perth, but he failed to carry forward his form with his recent dismissals in the Adelaide Test, reflecting ongoing struggles with fishing outside the off-stump.

After Steve Smith’s record ton at The Gabba against India, Sunil Gavaskar believes that the former Australian skipper’s success could spark Kohli to push himself even harder. Being a part of the "fab four" of the modern era, Kohli must want to go berserk at the Australian bowlers in the series.

This will act as an incentive for Virat Kohli: Sunil Gavaskar

Sunil Gavaskar on commentary on Day 2 of the Gabba Test: “This will act as an incentive for Virat Kohli. When you talk about the fab four (Smith, Kohli, Joe Root, and Kane Williamson), when the man at this end gets a good score, the man in the other camp (Kohli) will want to get a 100 as well.”

Meanwhile, it was a tough day for India on Day 2 of the ongoing third Test against Australia at The Gabba. The day started on a positive note with Jasprit Bumrah quickly removing both Australian openers Nathan McSweeney and Usman Khawaja and Nitish Reddy following up with the key wicket of Marnus Labuschagne in Brisbane.

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However, after lunch, India struggled to break through as Travis Head and Steve Smith took charge. Coming into the crease with Australia at 75/3, Head played a brilliant knock of 152, as well as added a huge 241-run partnership with Steve Smith (101) to guide his team to a strong position at 327/6.

Smith-Head put Australia in a strong position in the Gabba Test against India

Smith hit a century after 18 months, but Bumrah eventually broke the partnership by dismissing the former Australian skipper and then quickly sent Mitchell Marsh back to the pavilion. Despite Bumrah’s heroics, India couldn’t build on this momentum, as Australia managed to extend their lead thanks to Alex Carey, who is marching towards his fifty, and Pat Cummins’ (20) valuable 50-run stand.

It was a long day for the Indian cricket team, with Bumrah being the standout performer, claiming a five-wicket haul at the Gabba in Brisbane. Now, the tourists will need to regroup on Day 4, as they look to take three remaining wickets early, as they have already posted 405/7 on the board at the stump.