Australia vs India: A series that will define Virat Kohli and his side’s success for 2018

But as the tours of South Africa and England have shown, the grip he has on controlling the outcome seems to be weakening

India’s Test-match form in this much-hyped, pivotal year of abundant high-profile clashes makes for rather ugly reading (Getty)

“I cannot explain to you the satisfaction you get when you do well in Test cricket, because you know how demanding it is. It’s the most beautiful format of the game.”

These were Virat Kohli’s words to Wisden in August, and while he has made no attempt to hide his admiration for the longest format of the game, he would not be so complimentary of his team’s efforts in the format for the calendar year.

They may have swept aside West Indies in home conditions, but, that aside, India’s Test-match form in this much-hyped, pivotal year of abundant high-profile clashes makes for rather ugly reading.

They were apparently prepared better than ever before to finally win a Test series in South Africa in January, with Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane all having played in eastern hemisphere conditions previously. And combined with a seam attack that could finally exploit the spicy wickets, India looked sure to outgun the likes of AB de Villiers and Co.

Yet, the sole standout score from an Indian perspective in the first two Test matches came from Hardik Pandya at No 7 with 93 in Cape Town, whose knock was as alarming as it was swashbuckling.

The middle order were called upon far too often to elevate the team total into the realms of respectability as the top four folded far too prematurely, while the bowlers’ intensity yo-yoed and allowed South Africa to build up crucial partnerships.

India did restore some honour overall with a win in the third and final Test, but ultimately repetitive and foreseeable mistakes brought about by inadequate warm-up preparations saw these much talked-about 12 months get off to a pretty tepid start with a 2-1 loss.

If cracks were brought back into the line of vision in South Africa, then they certainly became extensive in England. The sole victory at Trent Bridge was a rare highlight in a 4-1 series hammering after the supporting cast around the India captain once again demonstrated their “spineless” credentials – as current head coach Ravi Shastri said after the side’s 2014 no-show.

The bowlers took twenty wickets in three of the five Tests, but those fluctuating performances in intensity that characterised the South Africa series continued to plague the bowling unit.

Ishant Sharma has had the finger pointed at him as personification of this particular collective shortcoming, yet as he arrives Down Under, he will no doubt seek to settle a more personal battle.

This will be the series that defines Kohli and his success as a captain (AP)

The 30-year-old currently holds the worst record for any full-time bowler to have toured Australia, having taken just 20 wickets in 10 Test matches at an average of 62. India’s record in Australia is equally as ominous, with their last Test win in the country coming in January 2008.

Nevertheless, while Sharma will have spent time picking his cricketing duels ahead of the Adelaide Test, there will be no Steve Smith to contest the histrionic, monkey-faced battles with this time around.

The absence of the former Australia captain and ex-vice-captain David Warner still constitutes the hosts’ greatest weakness, with newbie Marcus Harris, who recorded a Sheffield Shield double-hundred last month, wrestling with the recalled Peter Handscomb for the final batting spot. Meanwhile, Marnus Labuschagne is the latest name to have been tossed into the dirt, for the time being at least.

India on the other hand may be tempted to give experience another go, with Prithvi Shaw ruled out of the first Test with an ankle injury while KL Rahul, in the words of India’s batting coach Sanjay Bangar, is “finding new ways to get out.”

With Smith and Warner’s bans though, Kohli’s fiercest competitor for runs is likely to be Usman Khawaja, and if Ricky Ponting’s latest verdict is vindicated, then he may even outscore India’s prized asset.

But this rivalry seems to hold precedence both in terms of intrigue, and, rather regrettably, quality – although Ravichandran Ashwin and Nathan Lyon may have something to say about that if the former can fathom a formula to conquer his demons outside of Asia.

Nevertheless, there is likely to be nothing comparable to the tug of war between Sachin Tendulkar and Ponting or the attritional warfare between Sourav Ganguly and Steve Waugh. Even Kohli himself has had to seek out a new sparring partner following Mitchell Johnson’s retirement.

Kohli’s fiercest competitor for runs is likely to be Usman Khawaja (Getty)

It is perhaps symbolic of the Australians’ current adjustment period to the change of cricketing culture under Justin Langer and Tim Paine after ‘sandpaper-gate’, and the subsequent lack of resilience at times on the field coming to a head in series defeats against South Africa and Pakistan.

But the firepower Johnson possessed is still alive and burning with namesake Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, and Lyon’s 30 wickets from seven home Tests against India suggests he could edge ever closer to Dennis Lillee in third on the list of Australia’s top test wicket-takers.

As that quartet swarms around the Indian top-order, Kohli will offer his riposte in the only way he knows how. The issue, however, is that his fellow batsmen, Pujara aside, have failed to consistently break free from their typecast as soft-centred, hollow support staff to their imperious captain.

This is likely to be a series that is not determined by which batting line-up can flex its muscles the most, but rather the one that masks its frailties the best.

This, however, will be the series that defines Kohli and his success as a captain after a gruelling 2018 so far. But as the tours of South Africa and England have shown, the grip he has on controlling the outcome seems to be weakening.