As Steve Smith returns to form with an impressive century in the ongoing Gabba Test, it could boost Virat Kohli’s push to regain his form as former India captain Sunil Gavaskar hoped. Gavaskar took a dig at Kohli and said that Kohli now has an added incentive to rediscover his best form.

The legendary Indian cricketer highlighted Steve Smith’s return to form with the bat as a ray of hope for Virat Kohli as he feels the resurgence of the experienced Australian batsman could spark a fierce competition between the two modern-day greats in the current Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024. 25.

Sunil Gavaskar feels Steve Smith’s impressive Gabba century will push Virat Kohli back to his best

Gavaskar believes the dashing right-hander, who has been struggling to find consistency in Test cricket for the last four-five years, could find fresh motivation in Smith’s return between runs after the latter smashed an impressive century. in the ongoing third Test against India.

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The former Indian captain had a great time at the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia by smashing a century in Perth, but failed to maintain his form with his recent dismissals in the Adelaide Test, reflecting the ongoing struggles with fishing outside. the stump.

After Steve Smith’s record at The Gabba against India, Sunil Gavaskar believes the former Australian captain’s success could push Kohli to push even harder. Being part of the ‘fab four’ of the modern era, Kohli must want to go crazy with the Australian bowlers in the series.

This will act as incentive for Virat Kohli: Sunil Gavaskar

Sunil Gavaskar on Gabba Test Day 2 comment: “This will act as an incentive for Virat Kohli. When you talk about the fab four (Smith, Kohli, Joe Root and Kane Williamson), when the man on this side scores well, the man on the other side (Kohli) will also want to score a 100.”

Meanwhile, it was a tough day for India on Day 2 of the ongoing third Test against Australia at The Gabba. The day started on a positive note with Jasprit Bumrah making quick work of Australian openers Nathan McSweeney and Usman Khawaja and Nitish Reddy following up with the key wicket of Marnus Labuschagne in Brisbane.

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However, after lunch, India struggled to break through as Travis Head and Steve Smith took charge. Reaching the crease with Australia at 75/3, Head played a brilliant knock of 152, as well as adding a huge 241-run partnership with Steve Smith (101) to guide his team to a strong position at 327/6.

Smith-Head put Australia in a strong position in Gabba Test against India

Smith made a century after 18 months, but Bumrah finally broke the partnership by dismissing the former Australian captain and then quickly sending Mitchell Marsh back to the pavilion. Despite Bumrah’s heroics, India were unable to build on this momentum as Australia managed to extend their lead thanks to Alex Carey advancing towards his fifty and Pat Cummins’ (20) valuable 50-run stand.

It was a long day for the Indian cricket team, with Bumrah being the standout player, taking a five-wicket haul at the Gabba in Brisbane. Now, the tourists will have to regroup on the 4th as they look to take three remaining wickets early as they have already posted 405/7 on the stump board.