Virat Kohli on fire and Steve Smith stepping up as India and Australia’s veterans take center stage at the MCG

It has been 10 years since Australia last beat India in a Test series, home or away.

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This series, which Australia took out 2-0 but was relatively close throughout, saw the first official bat-off between two men who would dominate Test cricket for the next decade.

Both Steve Smith and Virat Kohli each made four centuries in the four-Test series. A 26-year-old Kohli finished with 692 runs at an average of 86.50, while 25-year-old Smith incredibly topped it with 769 runs at 128.16.

That series came just as Joe Root and Kane Williamson also began their ascents, and it had the very palpable feeling of the start of something.

Ten years on and the same two men, Steve Smith and Virat Kohli, front up on the other side of their impressive decades no less important.

At the MCG in December 2024, with eyes naturally drawn to the young men at opposite ends of their careers, Smith and Kohli still hold the fate of their country in their hands.

If this Test might end up deciding the series, the battle in it between Smith and Kohli might end up deciding the match.

And on day two, one rose to the occasion and the other imploded spectacularly.

In about six manic minutes late in the afternoon session, Kohli took all of India’s earlier good work and set it on fire, immediately handing Australia the advantage back just as the hosts began to falter.

First there was an outlet, completely out of the blue, as these things often are.

Yashasvi Jaiswal, on 82 and in total command of the Australian attack, hit a ball hard to Pat Cummins at mid-off and immediately launched a single.

Kohli saw Jaiswal coming but was caught on his heels, immediately turning to examine the merits of Jaiswal’s decision before looking back to see his partner already on his way.

In that split second, Kohli made the decision that he didn’t think he could safely get through to a single. Whether his assessment was correct – and it wouldn’t have mattered as Cummins’ throw missed the stumps anyway – it wasn’t his call to make.

It was his job to back up and be ready for Jaiswal’s call to run, but instead he overruled him and grilled him thoroughly.

That moment turned the entire match on its head, and clearly got into Kohli’s. In a textbook case of self-rattling, within minutes Kohli had played the exact nip shot outside the off-stump he had struggled all day to avoid and was caught behind.

Kohli and drama are never far away. Sometimes he actively seeks it out, as was the case on day one with Sam Konstas, but often his combustible nature means he can’t help but cause the odd explosion.

The chaos of Kohli was in stark contrast to Smith’s calming presence throughout the morning session as he professionally set up the game for Australia.

Smith had the advantage of being able to play his hand first, and with quite a sublime follow-up to his Brisbane breakthrough, he seized the opportunity.

If Gabba Smith was first forced to scrap to regain his touch, at the MCG it seemed to come as naturally as it did in 2014.

That was the thing about Peak Smudge that can often be forgotten – how easy and practiced he made batting look, even if he did it in an aesthetically unorthodox way.

He had strolled past the 50 on day one, then came out again with Pat Cummins on day two and casually clipped the rest of the runs needed for his 34th Test ton. The inevitability of it all was very familiar, frightening enough to India.

It was crucial for Australia that Smith finished the job the way he did, as a strong start on the opening day had waned by the end of the game. Had Smith joined the rest of the top four to get to 50 and get out, India would have been firmly at the top.

Instead, Smith drove his team forward, ably supported by the freewheeling end, past the 450 and into a wonderfully strong position. It is awfully difficult to lose a Test match from there.

The gauntlet was then thrown down to India’s top order, who had to knock their team out of a hole.

Rohit Sharma decided to kick KL Rahul out of his opening position, only to throw away his wicket with as mild a rejection as the captain could have mustered, half-heartedly chipping Cummins to Scott Boland at midwicket.

Rahul was one delivery away from seeing India through to tea, but was shocked to discover that one particular delivery was a Cummins fireball from the depths of hell.

It must be nice for Cummins that his trademark wicket is a completely unplayable, grotesquely beautiful delivery that kisses the top of the batter’s off-stump. Imagine that your thesis is literally the best in the world. It’s not really fair.

That brought Kohli to the crease and paired him with the heir apparent in Jaiswal for a crucial partnership. Australia’s conquerors in Perth were together again and both had a taste for it.

For a few hours, Australia must have suffered some alarming flashbacks, only for Kohli to turn his back on Jaiswal and change the whole affair.

Australia will now have to wade through Rishabh Pant and India’s revolving door of all-rounders to put themselves in a position to win this fourth Test and take a series lead. The pitch and conditions are fine for batting, but momentum is on Australia’s side and India suddenly look set for a meltdown.

If the Aussies keep it up at the MCG, Smith and Kohli’s role in the result will be negligent. Just like it was 10 years ago, and just like it will forever be as long as they share the field together.