The Indian batting line-up is the best in the world but not untameable if talismanic skipper Virat Kohli is kept in check, feels Australia vice-captain and pacer Josh Hazlewood. Kohli had scored 692 runs, including four hundreds, during India’s previous Test tour of Australia and Hazlewood said the run-machine will once again take centrestage when the rivalry renews from December 6 here.
“I see the Indian line up as the best in the world, if not right up there, led by Virat and I think they feed a lot off him and how he goes about things,” Hazlewood said.
“They’ve played a lot at home since we played them last in Australia. They toured England and South Africa, and it was only Virat who stood out. A lot of the other haven’t scored too many of the runs,” he added.
“I think we’ll obviously have a chat about him before the game starts. We’ll come up with a couple of options. It’s about what conditions suit, with a player of that caliber you need a few options,” Hazlewood told reporters.
But sledging the marauding batsman does not figure in those options. “Virat obviously thrives on that sort of stuff. It gets him going and he probably plays his best cricket when he’s doing that. It’s up to the individual – if it’s a bowler or a fielder. I am usually pretty quiet when I am bowling.”
