After coming off hard-fought limited-overs encounters and twin three-day warm-ups, India look set to take on Australia in the four-Test series for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, starting Thursday, at the Adelaide Oval, with the pink-ball Test. Virat Kohli and co are the defending champions, having won it during their last visit, in 2018-19.
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The series is traditionally known to be intense, owing to some on-field sledgings and mind games, that are regularly played between the two sides. The Indians have also become famous of late for giving it back to the Aussies, especially under the leadership of Kohli.
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Meanwhile, Australian limited-overs skipper, Aaron Finch, has warned his side to not get under the skin of Kohli too much, as it could make him even more aggressive. Finch happens to be Kohli's teammate in the Indian Premier League (IPL), where they play for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
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"I think there will be times when things boil over and when you have got strong characters on either team that's going to come to a head at some point. (But) there is a fine balance there, isn't there? You don't want him (Kohli) to get up and about in the contest. When he does, he can be ruthless on an opposition," said Finch to Sydney Morning Herald.
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"I think the change is in the way he goes about it now. I think as a person, he is probably a bit more relaxed out on the field and understands the tempo of the game," added Finch.
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Speaking on his experience laying alongside Kohli in the IPL, Finch recalled, "What really surprised me was how, he obviously does a lot of planning and preparation himself, and into the opposition, but he never focused more on the opposition than his own team. At Bangalore, he was always confident in the XI players that were picked and knew that if you played well, you had every chance of winning."
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"I was really surprised by how confident he was in everyone, he had a lot of time for everyone. He was great around the group, a lot more relaxed. I had never played with him, I had only played against him. We have had some great series where he has been on another level as a player, but he has been right up and about in terms of being very vocal out in the middle. It was great to see that (relaxed) side of him," concluded Finch.
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