Boxing Day Test: Can Kohli pick up a cue from Steve Smith’s doggedness?

The second day of the Boxing Day Test was all about batting masterclass from two of the Big Four of modern greats. The difference is while Steve Smith built on his renewed confidence to keep his date with a 34^th century, Virat Kohli’s effort was again a story of what could have been.  

 The late flurry of wickets in the day meant India have their backs to the wall again, despite there being enough promise of a strong Indian riposte during a resolute 113-run third wicket partnership between Kohli and Yashasvi Jaiswal. A 36 off 86 deliveries is not the true reflection of the ease with which Kohli was striking the ball – neither can it factor in the off-the-field pressure he had to cope with for the past 24 hours.

 It must not have been easy for someone of Kohli’s personality to digest the charges of a Level I offence from the ICC Match Referee Andy Pycroft for the shoulder barge on Thursday but there was no choice. The Australian media, comprising mostly of their former cricketers, tore into Kohli for what was clearly a lapse of reason – with a headline screaming King Kohli to Clown Kohli.   

It was below the belt while the TV pundits from India also found his act indefensible. The boos from large sections of the crowd, unthinkable given the kind of reception he was accorded on his arrival in Australia, summed up the mood but Kohli look unmoved today. A trademark cover drive off Pat Simmons gave hope to legion of his fans while a wry smile appeared on his face after every good ‘leaves’ outside the off stump – the advise the fraternity had been giving him.

 Just when it looked that India can make a match of it if the Jaiswal-Kohli pair ended the day unseparated, there was a brain-fade moment when the latter couldn’t trust on his partner’s call for a cheeky single and Jaiswal was run out on a brilliant 82. The youngster’s dismissal could have played on Kohli’s mind and in the very next over, he poked at a widish delivery from Scott Boland to bring about his doom.

 All his good work ended prematurely when it looked like Kohli was thriving on favourable batting conditions. Smith, on the other hand, was in no mood to let go the opportunity of a big innings as he began the day on an unbeaten 68. He continued his love affair with MCG in his workmanlike style – looking for vacant spaces to run his singles and twos to reach a landmark century in his storied career.

Now, Smith has the highest number Test centuries by any batter (11 in 43 innings) against India, outdoing England’s Joe Root who has 10 tons against India in 55 innings. In 23 Tests against India alone, he has made 2305 runs at an average of of 64.02 with his best score being 192.

 The former Australia captain has risen to joint-sixth highest among century makers in Tests at 34 tons alongside Younis Khan (Pakistan), Sunil Gavaskar (India), Brian Lara (West Indies) and Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka).

 Smith is two short of Root’s overall total of 36 – which makes him the highest century maker among active cricketers. Kane Williamson (33 centuries) is 12^th in the list while Kohli has now slipped to 16^th position with 30.

 Interesting enough, Smith’s ride had been a rollercoaster one where the 35-year-old has been through it all – an international ban at the peak of his career for the Sandpapergate and of course, the off-and-on loss of form. His previous century at The Gabba, a painstaking 101 at Adelaide, came after nearly one and-a-half years and the drought had kept the Australian selectors on tenterhooks.

 Despite being there and done that, Smith’s hunger to succeed saw him volunteering to open the innings after David Warner’s exit but it did not yield the right results. There was a growing perception that the Australian, who nosed ahead of Kohli in battle for Test greatness till five years back, is no longer as effective. Something, which he proved wrong with a vengeance when the occasion demanded.

 Kohli, on the other hand, has shown his fallibility time and again – though he still looks far more organised in red ball cricket than skipper Rohit Sharma. Can he pick up a cue from Smith before it’s too late?

Top Test centurions

1.     Sachin Tendulkar (India) 51

2.     Jacques Kallis (South Africa) 45

3.     Ricky Ponting (Australia) 41

4.     Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka) 38

5.     Joe Root (England) 36

5.     Rahul Dravid (India) 36

6.     Younis Khan (Pakistan) 34

6.     Sunil Gavaskar (India) 34

6.     Brian Lara (West Indies) 34

6.     Mahela Jayawardena (Sri Lanka) 34

6.  Steve Smith (Australia) 34