Ashwin vs Warner and Kohli vs Lyon: Star-studded matchups to light up BGT

He
isn’t
wrong
there.
Australia
ran
riot
in
Ashes
2021-22,
beating
England
4-0.
The
2019
edition
ended
in
a
draw,
however,
the
urn
was
retained
by
Australia
as
they
had
ripped
through
England
with
another
4-0
win
in
2017.
On
the
flip
side,
they
have
been
humbled
and
humiliated
by
India
twice
in
a
row.
What
adds
injury
to
the
wound
is
that
India,
who
were
at
times
severely
deteriorated
due
to
injuries
of
their
key
players,
scripted
these
two
histories
away
from
–
in
the
den
of
a
team
which
at
one
point
of
time
were
invincible
in
away
conditions
as
well.

Indian
teams
of
the
past
were
decorated
with
batters
of
highest
orders
but
this
team
which
resonates
‘New
India’ is
filled
with
pacers
who
are
right
into
the
face
of
the
opposition,
guileful
spinners
who
have
the
attitudes
of
pacers,
and
a
group
of
players
capable
enough
to
face
off
against
an
entire
nation.
The
Border-Gavaskar
Trophy
is
apparently
the
most
iconic
red-ball
series
on
the
planet
because
of
the
quality
of
players
involved
in
it.
Unlike
the
past,
it’s
not
just
Sachin
Tendulkar
or
Rahul
Dravid
vs
Australia.
In
this
week
of
love
(Valentines’
week),
India
and
Australia
players
will
be
renewing
their
rivalry
in
the
purest
form
of
cricket.
Most
of
these
rivalries
are
among
players
who
have
aged
and
matured
well
—
they
are
mentally
at
their
strongest
and
most
probably
aiming
to
add
another
glorious
chapter
before
they
hang
their
boots
and
watch
the
highlights
of
their
wizardry.

Ashwin
vs
Warner

One
of
the
most
intelligent
cricketers
to
play
the
game
versus
most
gusty
opener
to
wear
the
Baggy
Green.
Ravichandran
Ashwin’s
love
for
left-handers
isn’t
a
hidden
fact.
In
88
Test
matches,
he
has
taken
225
wickets
at
an
economy
of
2.45
and
an
average
of
19.2
against
left-hand
batters.
Six
out
of
ten
Australia
batters
including
all-rounders
and
wicket-keepers
touring
India
are
southpaws.
The
number
one
ranked
Test
team
in
the
world
would
be
wary
of
the
Ashwin
threat.
Someone
like
Warner
might
be
going
through
sleepless
nights
even
on
the
thought
of
facing
the
36-year-old
tweaker.
Ashwin,
who
is
one
shy
of
450
Test
scalps,
has
dismissed
Warner
10
times
in
12
matches.
Warner
averages
as
low
as
18.2
against
the
third
ranked
Test
bowler
in
the
world.

Since
2017,
Ashwin
has
picked
95
wickets
at
an
average
of
19.89
against
the
left-handers.
Warner,
on
the
other
hand,
averaged
38.37
in
2021
and
30.05
in
2022.
Two
months
ago
in
the
Boxing
Day
Test
match
against
South
Africa
last
year,
Warner
slammed
a
double
hundred
while
playing
in
his
100th
Test
match.
Warner
often
referred
as
‘The
Bull’ in
the
cricketing
circles
is
known
to
script
massive
comebacks
and
face
the
challenges
head
on.
His
record
against
Ashwin
and
Test
average
of
24.25
in
India
is
something
the
36-year-old
would
be
looking
to
improve
in
understandably
his
last
few
Test
matches
in
the
subcontinent
nation.

Ashwin
vs
Smith

From
one
major
battle
to
another,
from
one
Australia
legend
to
another,
however,
Ashwin
remains
the
constant.
Steve
Smith
is
going
through
a
purple
patch
once
again
and
he
has
scored
two
hundreds
including
one
double
and
a
fifty
in
his
last
five
Test
matches.
The
33-year-old
has
played
14
Test
matches
against
India
and
scored
1742
runs
at
an
average
of
72.58.
The
former
Australia
captain
has
hit
eight
hundreds
(three
in
India
in
six
matches)
and
five
fifties
against
an
opposition
he
loves
playing
against.
Ashwin
has
89
Test
wickets
against
Australia
–
the
most
he
has
picked
against
a
Test
playing
nation.

However,
the
second
ranked
Test
batter
in
the
world
will
have
the
challenge
of
keeping
Ashwin,
the
third-ranked
Test
bowler
at
bay.
Ashwin
has
got
the
better
of
Smith
six
times
in
the
12
matches
the
two
have
locked
horns
against
each
other.
At
the
same
time,
Smith
averages
a
handy
68.7
against
the
off-spinner.
Both
these
players
have
a
knack
of
getting
under
the
skin
of
the
opposition.
For
now,
Ashwin
has
already
made
room
into
the
heads
of
the
Australian
batters.
21-year-old
spinner
Mahesh
Pithiya,
who
has
been
labelled
as
‘Ravichandran
Ashwin
impersonator’
due
to
his
uncannily
similar
bowling
action
to
the
India
veteran.

First
Test
is
five
days
away
and

@ashwinravi99
is
already
inside
Aus
head
????

#INDvAUS
#BorderGavaskarTrophy
https://t.co/H1BNpj3PP8

—
Wasim
Jaffer
(@WasimJaffer14)

February
4,
2023

Kohli
vs
Lyon

Virat
Kohli
left
the
Indian
camp
after
India’s
shattering
defeat
after
36
all-out
in
the
second
innings
of
the
first
Test
during
the
last
season
of
BGT
in
2020-21.
The
former
captain
has
bounced
back
in
form
with
a
handful
of
hundreds
in
white-ball
cricket
but
is
yet
to
stamp
back
his
authority
in
red-ball
cricket.
Since
his
last
hundred
in
Test
cricket,
he
has
played
36
innings
and
scored
917
runs
at
an
average
of
26.20.
Since
the
start
of
2020,
Kohli
has
played
seven
Test
matches
in
India
and
scored
289
runs
at
an
average
of
26.27.

The
modern
day
batting
great
had
his
share
of
problems
against
spin
bowling.
Left-arm
spinners
got
his
wicket
thrice
in
nine
innings
in
2021.
The
same
was
the
result
in
2022.
Off-spinners
dismissed
him
four
times
in
eight
innings
in
2021.
In
2022,
they
grabbed
the
precious
wicket
of
Kohli
twice
in
six
innings.

Australia
veteran
Nathan
Lyon
will
be
fancying
his
chance
once
against
his
arch-nemesis.
The
off-spinner,
who
has
460
Test
wickets
in
total
and
94
in
22
matches
against
India,
has
sent
Kohli
back
in
the
pavilion
seven
times
–
the
joint-most
in
Test
cricket
alongside
James
Anderson.
Overall,
Kohli
has
scored
410
runs
in
17
matches
at
an
average
of
58.6
against
the
35-year-old.
Kohli,
scored
his
maiden
Test
hundred
against
Australia
back
in
2012.
The
swashbuckling
right-hander
would
be
aiming
to
end
his
Test
century
drought
with
his
eight
against
the
opposition.
Lyon
(34
wickets
in
seven
matches
in
India)
would
look
to
prolong
King’s
wait.

Pujara
vs
Cummins
and
Hazlewood

Express
pacers
are
dreadful
of
players
like
Cheteshwar
Pujara.
Not
many
like
Pujara
are
left
in
world
cricket.
In
fact,
there
is
a
great
chance
that
the
Saurashtra
star
is
the
last
of
the
purists
in
Test
cricket.
To
face
fifty
drought
balls
in
a
row
and
gearing
up
for
the
51st,
getting
hit
all
over
the
body
in
toughest
batting
conditions
without
flinching,
going
to
county
cricket
and
hitting
hundreds
for
fun
to
script
a
national
comeback
are
stuffs
only
Pujara
–
the
last
of
his
kind
can
do.
The
35-year-old
loves
batting
against
Australia
and
has
scored
his
maximum
runs
against
them.
In
the
20
matches
he
has
played
against
Australia,
he
has
scored
1893
runs
at
an
average
of
54.08.
With
just
two
matches
away
from
his
100th
Test,
Pujara
would
be
aiming
to
make
the
moment
big.

He
has
anchored
India’s
innings
in
the
previous
two
BGT
with
perfection.
Pujara
amassed
521
runs
on
the
2018-19
tour
of
Australia.
He
backed
that
up
with
utterly
precious
271
runs
off
928
balls
(second-highest
for
India)
on
the
2020-21
tour.
In
his
third
attempt
spinners
could
be
the
threat
but
it’s
the
Australian
pacers
he
could
be
watchful
of.

Australia
captain
Pat
Cummins
dismissed
Pujara
five
times
in
the
last
series.
In
total,
he
has
picked
out
Pujara
seven
times
in
10
matches.
The
Indian
number
three
averages
24.6
against
Cummins.
Further,
Josh
Hazlewood
has
dismissed
the
right-hander
six
times.
Pujara
averages
39.7
versus
Hazlewood.