Test great urges Aussies: Don't rile Kohli

Test great Jason Gillespie has issued a simple piece of advice to Australia ahead of their ODI series with India: don't rile Virat Kohli. 

The Australians, who play the first of five 50-over matches at Chennai on Sunday, have a chequered history with the India captain, who is renowned as one of world cricket's more volatile figures. 

Kohli has however, invariably had the last laugh: in 23 ODIs against Australia he has piled on 1,002 runs at 55.60 with five hundreds. 

The two sides will also play three T20Is following the ODIs, and Kohli's record in that format against the Aussies is even more impressive: nine matches for 401 runs at 66.83, with four half-centuries. 

"Kohli is an amazing player," Gillespie told the Times of India. "Once the field spreads, he can bat safely. 

"I don't think Australia need to get into a verbal battle or get into staring competitions with Kohli.

"The best way to put him under pressure is through disciplined bowling. I would like to see the Aussie quicks bowl bouncers throat-high to get him on the back foot, make him thinking about it.

"The follow-up ball remains the key; make him come forward, inviting the drive. If there is movement off the wicket or in the air, then the edge comes into play. 

"Maybe they can bowl on the stumps with two catchers on the on-side. It's about getting him out of his comfort zone."

Kohli hasn't played Australia in a limited-overs match since the ICC World T20 in India in March 2016, when he virtually single-handedly dumped Steve Smith's team out of the tournament with a majestic 82 not out. 

The 28-year-old has been in outstanding form of late, with two centuries in his last two ODIs and 82 in his most recent T20I knock, all against Sri Lanka in recent weeks. 

Earlier this year in India however, the Aussies had a rare win over their fiery opponent, when he was limited to just 46 runs at 9.20 in the first three Tests before missing the decider with injury. 

Throughout, Kohli had several spats with Australian players – including Smith and Glenn Maxwell – during what was a tempestuous series, declaring afterward that friendships had been affected. 

Earlier this week, Smith said despite the animosity between the two sides, he expected the two series to be "played in good spirit". 

"It is a hard-fought contest playing against India," he said. "I am not too concerned about the differences with Kohli. 

"He is obviously a very good player and has a phenomenal ODI record.

"Hopefully, we can keep him quiet as much as possible in this series. If we do that then hopefully it can go a long way in us having success on this tour."

Australia's Qantas Tour of India

Australia ODI squad: Steve Smith (c), David Warner, Ashton Agar, Hilton Cartwright, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Patrick Cummins, James Faulkner, Aaron Finch, Travis Head, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, Adam Zampa.

Australia T20 squad: Steve Smith (c), David Warner, Jason Behrendorff, Dan Christian, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Patrick Cummins, Aaron Finch, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Glenn Maxwell, Tim Paine, Kane Richardson, Adam Zampa.

India squad (first three ODIs): Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma (vc), KL Rahul, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Ajinkya Rahane, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami.

ODI Fixtures

September 17: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

September 21: Eden Gardens, Kolkata

September 24: Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore

September 28: M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

October 1: VCA Stadium, Nagpur

T20 Fixtures

October 1: JSCA International Stadium, Ranchi

October 10: Barsapara Stadium, Guwahati

October 13: Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad