IND vs AUS 1st Test: Virat Kohli vs Steve Smith, Nathan Lyon v R Ashwin - 5 key Battles to Watch out for in Border-Gavaskar Trophy

As a right-hand batter with limited skills, it becomes nearly impossible to play off-spin of Nathan Lyon. The Aussie spinner likes to turn the ball in to right-hander from outside the off stump with bounce. It more often than not, hits the upper inside edge of the bat and goes straight into the hands of the short-leg fielder who is always placed when Lyon is bowling to right-handers. Pujara is one such batter who does not sweep, reverse-sweeps to tackle any kind of spin bowling. Over the years, facing Lyon, he has developed his own technique to tackle him. He usually comes down the track and looks to defend or play it to the on side. He did it successfully on occasions in Australia in back-to-back series in 2018-19 and 2020-21 respectively. However, he is always taking a big risk to play these shots. One, he comes down the track. Two, because of his bat speed and bat lift, he ends up giving a catch to short mid-wicket or leg slip. In a nutshell, he sometimes loses control over the shot. Lyon likes to use three field placements - short-leg, short mid-wicket and leg slip for Pujara, to try and push him on back foot. In this series too, Lyon and Pujara will look to outdo each other in an intense mini battle. Let's see who has the last laugh. (Image source: Twitter)

Virat Kohli has many mini battles to fight in this series and rightly so because of his stature in world cricket. Being one of the best batters in the Indian lineup, the opposition works extra hard on getting him out and looks to expose his weaknesses. Kohli does not like to face Pat Cummins. This is not just an observation but a fact. The numbers tell us the real picture. In 10 innings in which Cummins has bowled to Kohli, he has got him out five times. Kohli has managed just 82 runs in these many innings at a poor average of 16.40. Cummins clearly will have a psychological edge over Kohli when the first Test begins on February 9 in Nagpur. (Image source: Twitter)

KL Rahul has had tough time in the Tests. India did not play many Tests in 2022-23 period due to the T20 World Cup but a look at his batting innings reveals he has been inconsistent. Rahul's failures are also big failures. He either goes big or goes home. One of Rahul's major problems across formats has been the moving ball at the start of the innings. He is lucky in a way that left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc won't play the first Test due to finger injury. Rahul has had his issues vs left -arm pacers in the past including Sam Curran, Trent Boult and Shaheen Shah Afridi. Against them, he gets into two minds while playing the inswing. Pat Cummins and Scott Boland, who are expected to open the bowling for Australia in the first Test will look to use his early nerves to their advantage. (Image source: Twitter)

Two of the best Test batters in world cricket at the moment, Virat Kohli and Steve Smith will be engaged in a battle of their own during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. When it comes to the stats, Smith is better than Kohli. Averaging 60.89 against Virat's 48.91, Smith has scored 8647 runs in 92 Tests. Virat has 8119 runs in 104 Tests. His average has dipped by more than 2 runs in last 2 years due to lack of form. They bat at the same spot, No 4, for their respective sides and their form will be crucial in the series. If Virat and Smith make runs, needless to say that more often than not, their team will finish with big runs on the board. In a mini battle of their own, they will look to outscore each other. Smith's challenge in this series will be the swing, especially the away going deliveries as he has tendency to edge the ball. Kohli's problems lies while facing the spin. The off-spin of Nathan Lyon can prove to be dangerous for the batter who likes to defend aggresively. (Image source: Twitter)

What a matchup this is. Lyon vs Ashwin. Two of the best in the game when it comes to off-spin bowling. Lyon will be hoping to make better use of the spin-friendly conditions in India to improve upon his record in Border-Gavaskar Trophy while playing away. In 13 Tests in India which Ashwin played, Lyon has 34 wickets at an average of 30.58 which includes 3 five-wicket hauls and no 10-wicket hauls. On the other hand, Ashwin has bossed the BGT in India with 44 wickets from 14 matches at an average of 23.95. He has taken 4 five-wicket hauls and a 10-wicket haul. Both the off-spinners have different bowling styles. Lyon looks to pitch outside the off stump and turns the ball into the right-handed batter. He uses the seam of the ball as well as his height and jumps in run-ups while delivering the ball, to get sharp turn and bounce. When Lyon is bowling to the right-handers, the short-leg and leg-slip will always be alert as his main-wicket-taking style is creating catching chances for bat-pad via inside edges. Ashwin is more into the stumps. He continues to bowl different variations keeping the off stump line. Due to many variations up his sleeve, he makes it difficult for the batter to judge his next ball. (Image source: Twitter)