"That's a really good matchup from Australia's perspective" - Tom Moody on Pat Cummins' battle with Virat Kohli in the WTC final
Tom Moody expects Pat Cummins to be a handful for Virat Kohli in the World Test Championship (WTC) final if the Australian pacer is at the top of his game.
India and Australia will lock horns in the title decider at The Oval in London from Wednesday, June 7. While the Indian batting is expected to revolve around Kohli, Cummins is likely to be one of the biggest threats for them in the Aussie bowling department.
While speaking on the Star Sports show 'Follow the Blues', Moody picked Cummins as an excellent matchup for Kohli, saying:
"In any conditions, he (Cummins) has been a handful for any batter in the world and like all the bowlers, he is going to relish the conditions. That's a really good matchup from Australia's perspective - Pat Cummins against Virat Kohli."
The former Australian all-rounder pointed out that the right arm-seamer has enjoyed great success in England, elaborating:
"He can get the ball to go away from Kohli to challenge the outside edge. But he has also got that really good off-cutter which he has used effectively, particularly in England. He has knocked over Joe Root a couple of times with it. If he is bowling in that type of form, I think Pat Cummins is certainly going to be a handful for Virat Kohli."
Kohli has been dismissed five times by Cummins and averages a paltry 16.4 against him in Test cricket. The Aussie skipper has picked up 29 wickets at an excellent average of 19.62 in the five Tests he has played on English soil.
"Two players that have cracked the code in England" - Tom Moody on the Virat Kohli vs Steve Smith battle
Tom Moody was also asked about his thoughts on the battle between Virat Kohli and Steve Smith, to which he responded:
"It's going to be intriguing to see the Kohli-Smith battle - two modern-day greats, two players who have an enormous amount of runs in Test match cricket, and two players that have cracked the code in England."
The cricketer-turned-commentator highlighted that both batters have mastered the English conditions lately and will want to upstage each other, stating:
"Smith has got a remarkable record in Ashes cricket in England. Virat Kohli, after a slow start in England, has come back very well in the last series that he played there. So two greats will definitely be trying to go run-for-run against each other."
Smith has amassed 1727 runs at an exceptional average of 59.55 in the 16 Tests he has played in England. Kohli's 1033 runs in as many Tests on English soil have come at a much lower average of 33.32, but that is primarily due to the horror run he endured on his first Test tour of England in 2014.