Ind vs Aus: Will Virat Kohli actually miss decider at Dharamsala?

Kohli’s likely replacement is the uncapped Iyer who is no stranger to the Australians.

The controversies – both on and off-field -have refused to die down in the series and adding to the list is an article in Daily Telegraph which likened India captain Virat Kohli to Donald Trump.

Dharamsala: While the uncertainty surrounding Virat Kohli’s availability for the series-deciding Test against Australia continued, the skipper on Friday made it clear that he would play the match in Dharamsala only if he is 100 per cent fit.

“I thought he did a pretty good job last week when he was out on the field in Virat’s absence”.

For India the major concerns are the form of Ajinkya Rahane and skipper Kohli who haven’t turned up in the last few Tests but there have been contributions up and down the order with Murali Vijay and Lokesh Rahul forming an imposing opening partnership and being backed up by the dependable Cheteshwar Pujara. Playing alongside Rahane has given Smith an opportunity to know him and his assessment is that the Mumbaikar is less emotional. Perhaps it was more to do with not exerting pressure on his hurt shoulder. Probably, not quite as emotional.

“I am particularly perturbed by the fact that some of us in the media are promoting this divisiveness and taking sides to spread ill-will”. I think the way they saw Pat Cummins bowl the other day, they don’t really want it any faster than Ranchi, I wouldn’t think.

Sutherland later joked that he is not sure if Kohli, who was later seen clapping after Smith wasted a final review on Pujara during the third day of the third Test, knows how to spell the word “sorry”.

The 22-year-old hammered the first ball he faced, delivered by Nathan Lyon, for six and proceeded to score with minimal fuss and maximum style despite some unsolicited advice from David Warner and Matthew Wade. “So he played really well there”.

Under Smith, no longer is it acceptable for batsmen to give up their wickets playing their “natural game” or adopting the mindset that attack is the best method of defence. Going into the match, Smith said the favourites tag doesn’t bother him one bit. “You ve got to give him that, he s consistent”, Lawson was quoted as saying by Fox Sports.

The pitches for the series have gone from a rank turner to one where the pacers could find more purchase, with the altitude too providing more carry. “If you want to captain your country, if you want to be number one in the world you’ve got to be tough”, Clarke said. There is no official confirmation on whether Kohli will be fully fit to walk down for the toss with Steve Smith on Saturday, but given the captain’s demeanour yesterday, doubts linger over his availability for the series decider. These things do not matter to me so much, they have never mattered.