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2023 Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Top 3 Player Battles | Head-to-head player battles & stats for 2023 Border-Gavaskar Trophy

The highly-anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy is set to commence from February 9 in Nagpur. The contest is extremely important for both sides as their prospects of featuring in the World Test Championship (WTC) final rests on this series, otherwise they will need other results to go their way.

India has emerged victorious the last three times that the teams have gone head-to-head in red-ball cricket. With multiple stars turning up for the two sides, it is possible that the outcome of the series will be largely determined by the specific player battles that will take place throughout the course of the four Tests.

3 player battles to watch out for in the 2023 Border-Gavaskar Trophy

Here are three player battles to keep an eye on, brought to you by BettingTop10.in: Today Cricket Match Predictions 100% Free by BettingTop10.in

1: Virat Kohli v Pat Cummins

Virat Kohli has certainly regained his imperious touch with the bat and that will solidify and strengthen the Indian middle-order. The Indian side will be missing the presence of Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer (for first game) and that puts great onus on Kohli to take charge of the batting lineup.

Australian skipper Pat Cummins will relish the opportunity to go against Kohli in what could be the marquee contest. Cummins arguably has maintained an upper hand on Kohli so far – having dismissed him five times in the 247 deliveries that he has bowled to him in Test cricket. The ex-India skipper averages merely 16.4 and will be edging to better that record in the upcoming series.

2: Usman Khawaja v Ravichandran Ashwin

Usman Khawaja has demonstrated terrific form in the year gone by, having notched 1080 runs in 11 Tests in 2022 at an average of 67.50 including five-half centuries and four centuries. The southpaw has a knack of performing well against spinners but his ultimate test will be against Ravichandran Ashwin.

The Indian off-spinner, a veteran of 88 Tests with 449 dismissals to his name, is lethal against left-handers. Khawaja has faced Ashwin in only 49 deliveries in Test cricket. However, he has already been dismissed twice by the bowler and averages just five against him. Quick scalps early on will add further pressure on the Australian middle-order and Ashwin will be looking to do exactly that by targeting Khawaja upfront.

3: Steven Smith v Ravindra Jadeja

All said and done, Steven Smith will be the one holding the key to Australia’s chances in this series. The right-hander displayed tremendous flair against the Indian spinners the last time the Aussies toured India for a Test series in 2017.

Overall, he averages 60 across six Tests in India with a half-century and three centuries to his name. Quality left-arm spin is arguably still a chink in his armour and India will look to exploit that with the return of Ravindra Jadeja.

Smith averages 45.2 against the Indian all-rounder but has been dismissed four times by him as well. However, in India, Smith has faced a mammoth 474 deliveries for those four dismissals.

In fact, in the 2017 series, Smith notched three centuries. Irrespective of the quality that the Saurashtra star brings to the table with his bat, India will want him to be in fine bowling form particularly to tackle Smith’s prowess in subcontinental conditions.

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