Virat Kohli, Steve Smith will be keen to stamp authority in Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Matthew Hayden

Matthew Hayden predicts Kohli and Smith will be key in the upcoming India-Australia series, with runs being crucial.

Indian batting stalwart Virat Kohli and Australia's Steve Smith would be more than keen to stamp their authority in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar series in which runs would be "at a premium", feels Australian great Matthew Hayden.

Hayden, considered one of the best openers of his era, opined that both Kohli and Smith like to dominate in their own ways and will hold the key to how the series pans out Down Under.

Also Read:Nathan Lyon seeks English spinner Hartley’s ‘inputs’ to tame Yashasvi Jaiswal

"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, 2024).

"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 said.

India and Australia will play a five-Test series for the first time since 1991-92 starting November 22 at Perth, and Hayden said it will be hard to pick which team has the edge.

Also Read: Border-Gavaskar Trophy in sight, Cummins takes eight-week break