Former England captain Michael Vaughan asserted that once again, the battle between Steve Smith and Virat Kohli is going to be a deciding factor in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Australia are quite desperate to win a Test series against India which they failed to do in the past decade. The reigning World Test Champions have lost two home Border-Gavaskar series, which dent their dominant legacy as hosts.

Meanwhile, the Asian Giants are also under pressure after losing a home Test series against New Zealand, which has made it tricky for them to qualify for the World Test Championship final. India need to beat Australia 4-0 in five matches to qualify for the WTC final for the third consecutive time.

Vaughan, who is very vocal about his opinions, suggested that Smith looked calm and composed in the ODI series against Pakistan and it can be seen in his eyes that he has got his rhythm back and will be raring to win the BGT.

“Steve Smith back at number four, those two innings that we saw in the one-day series, he seemed to have had that flow (back). We’ve seen Steve’s eyes when he’s playing well, he just looks completely composed, calm out in the middle. He (has) found that,” Vaugan told Fox Cricket.

Meanwhile, the former England captain also opined that Indian batting maestro Kohli enjoys batting in Australia which will boost his morale.

“I think Virat Kohli, when he comes here, when he lands in Australia, he lands and knows that this is a place that he’s had a huge amount of success," he added.

‘Could argue which of the number fours - Kohli or Smith has the biggest series’

Kohli and Smith enjoy batting against each other's teams, and their records speak for themselves. The Indian star has played 25 Tests against Australia and scored 2042 runs at an average of 47.48, with eight centuries and five fifties in 424 innings. He played a pivotal role in India's domination over Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in the past decade. India have emerged victorious in the last four series of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, with two series wins each at home and away.

Incidentally, Smith has also scored the same number of runs against India in Tests but in fewer matches than Kohli—19 Tests at a stunning average of 65.87.

Vaughan admitted the Border-Gavaskar Trophy result will be once again depend on the performance of both teams's number 4 batters.

“You could argue which of the number fours has the biggest series could be the deciding factor of the whole series. I think 15 to 20 years ago, I think you had to arrive in Australia and think about getting 500 in the first things,” he said.

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