Virat Kohli, Steve Smith tagged kingpins if India and Australia want to win Border-Gavaskar trophy 2024-25

Former Australian opener Matthew Hayden made interesting comments on star batters Virat Kohli and Steve Smith in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 series.

Matthew Hayden said that Virat Kohli and Steve Smith will be hoping to stamp their authority in the upcoming Test series later this year.

India and Australia will play in the five-match Test series starting on November 22 in Perth.

Australian players are keen to break their losing streak, as they last won a Test series against India in 2014-15. India has secured four consecutive Border-Gavaskar Trophies, including two victories on Australian soil.

Matthew Hayden pins hopes on Virat Kohli and Steve Smith

Speaking to PTI on the sidelines of the CEAT Cricket Rating Awards, Matthew Hayden described Steve Smith and Virat Kohli as key players in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Hayden stated that both players are in the later stages of their careers and added that they want to dominate during the series.

"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 on the sidelines of the CEAT Cricket Rating Awards on Wednesday, August 21.

"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," he added.

Steve Smith and Virat Kohli are among the most prolific run-scorers in cricket. Kohli made a significant impact during the 2014-15 series in Australia, where he scored over 650 runs. Overall, he has scored 2,042 runs in 25 matches against Australia at an average of 47.49, including 8 centuries and 5 fifties.

Steve Smith boasts an impressive Test record against India. The star batter has scored 2,042 runs in 19 matches at an average of 65.87, including nine centuries and five fifties, with a highest score of 192.

Smith also scored a match-winning century against India in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023 Final.

The Men In Blue Aim To Secure Hat-Trick Test Series Victory In Australia

The five-match Test series between Australia and India will begin on November 22 in Perth. Following the first Test, the teams will play a day-night match in Adelaide.

Team India was bowled out for 36 runs in their previous day-night Test at Adelaide Oval in 2020. It was the Indian team's lowest score in Test cricket.

Australia holds a lead over India in their Test head-to-head record, with 45 wins compared to India's 32 out of 107 matches.

However, the India team has triumphed in the last two Border-Gavaskar Trophy series held in Australia (2018-19 and 2020-21). India will aim to continue this success under Rohit Sharma.

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