Virat Kohli is currently, on form, the best batsman in the world in all formats. No batsman has enthralled and invoked that sense of batting wonderment more than the India captain in this era of slam-bang cricket.
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So, when India host Australia in a four-match Test series starting next week, Kohli will naturally be the focus. And the man tasked with making sure Kohli does not end up with centuries and double hundreds and match-winning knocks will be Australia's best bowler and arguably the best pace bowler in the world at the moment – Mitchell Starc.
What makes this battle all the more intriguing is the fact that these two superstars of world cricket are also teammates.
Both Kohli and Starc play for the same team in the IPL – the Royal Challengers Bangalore. And having played together for RCB, there will be very little secrets when the two face off.
Sometimes that can be a good thing, but it might also end up working against you. While going in to bat or bowl, you might start second guessing yourself and try and call a bluff, double bluff or even a triple bluff, because you might think the opponent at the other end will read your mind, and in the end only end up confusing yourself (much like this sentence, I'm sure).
To be fair, though, Kohli has shown absolutely no signs of getting muddled or overthinking at the crease. He is in such a zone at the moment that there really seems to be nothing that can throw him off the big-innings course.
If there is one bowler capable of stopping the Kohli storm it is Starc. The left-arm pacer has the ability to swing the new ball and then can get it to tail away late from the right-hander when the ball starts to reverse.
So, he is dangerous with the new and old ball and as the India bowlers have shown, there will be reverse-swing on offer in these Test matches.
Irrespective of when Kohli walks in, Steve Smith, the Australia captain, is likely to give the ball to Starc in the hope of getting the India skipper out early. Smith will know if Kohli's isn't dismissed soon, the Aussies are likely to chase a lot of leather.
As Kohli showed against New Zealand, England and Bangladesh – when he gets settled in, he now has the penchant to score a big hundred. And when Kohli scores a big hundred, India invariably end up putting up a big score, which, in turn, shuts out the possibility of one result – a win for the opposition.
So, getting Starc in when Kohli walks into the middle and hoping the left-armer can do the trick will be key for the visitors. While Starc did not enjoy the greatest of times the last time Australia toured India, he showed he is a potent bowler in any conditions with a superlative showing against Sri Lanka last year.
Starc was one of the few players to leave Sri Lankan shores with his head held high, with the 27-year-old picking up 24 wickets from the three Test matches, at an average of 15.16 and a strike rate of 25.8.
Without a doubt, Starc will be a factor in these four Test matches and Kohli will feel the need to make sure the Aussie pacer does not have as much of an impact. Be that by asking his batsmen to take the attack to Starc or by taking it upon himself to knock him off his stride remains to be seen.
However you look at it, the Kohli vs Starc contest promises to be a captivating one.
