"Those two will be very keen to dominate the Border-Gavaskar Trophy" Matthew Hayden on Virat Kohli and Steve Smith

Matthew Hayden speaks on the importance of Kohli and Smith for their respective teams and for the series.

Former Australian cricketer Matthew Hayden has high hopes from Steve Smith and Virat Kohli for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25.

The five-match test series will be played from November 22 to January 7, 2025. Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney will host the five tests.

While India will be aiming for a hat-trick of series wins on Australian soil, Pat Cummins’ team are desperate to defeat India in a test series, having lost the last four.

They really are the keys to the Australian summer: Hayden on Kohli and Smith

Hayden feels that Indian stalwart Virat Kohli and Australian ace batter Steve Smith will be key players for their respective sides and are crucial for the success of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series as well.

“I’m sure those two players, coming now to the later pages of their cricket career, will be very keen to dominate the landscape through the summer,” Hayden said. “That’s their nature: they do it in very different ways, [and] very different styles, but certainly, they really are the keys to the Australian summer,” Hayden said on the sidelines of the CEAT cricket rating awards on Wednesday.

The 35-year-old Kohli has played 13 test matches in Australia and has amassed 1352 runs at an impressive average of 54.08, including six centuries and four half-centuries.

Overall, Kohli has played 25 tests against Australia, in which he’s scored 2042 runs at 47.48 with eight hundreds and five fifties.

Smith has recorded 2042 runs in 19 test matches against the Indian cricket team till now. The Australian batter has an admirable average of 65.87, including nine centuries and five half-centuries against the Asian giants.

India’s tour of Australia 2024-25 schedule:

November 22-26: 1st test, Perth Stadium, Perth (D)

December 6-10: 2nd test, Adelaide Oval, Adelaide (D/N)

December 14-18: 3rd test, The Gabba, Brisbane (D)

December 26-30: 4th test, MCG, Melbourne (D)

January 3-7: 5th Test, SCG, Sydney (D)

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