5 reasons why this could be a defining tour for Steven Smith as captain

#4 Battle of the titans

Kohli and Smith are going to be key players for both sides

Smith and Indian skipper Virat Kohli are indubitably one of the best batsmen in the circuit and fierce competitors in their own way. Smith took over the captaincy from Michael Clarke at a similar time when MS Dhoni stepped down and Kohli was handed over the responsibility. Both have been instrumental in their team’s success and garnered runs on a consistent basis.

Smith was the tormentor-in-chief when India took on Australia in the previous Border-Gavaskar Trophy, scoring 769 runs at a mind-boggling average of 128.16. The pressure of replicating his magical performance in India will be huge on the Australian skipper. The Australian captain averages just over 73 as the skipper of the side, while Kohli, on the other hand, boasts of a healthy average of 67.22 as captain.

Smith has led the Australian side in 20 games and scored 2212 runs while Kohli has marshalled the Indian side in 23 encounters, scoring 2353 runs. The stage is set for both the loyalists and this series will serve as an ideal battleground for these two better their counterpart’s record. This will be a battle within the battle for Smith as Kohli has the advantage, whereas the former carries an experience of a couple of Tests, 5 ODIs, 4 T20Is and ample of Indian Premier League games on his back.