Virat Kohli has started the fire. Now can the ice-cool Steve Smith put it out?

The second Test between Australia and India was an unforgettable contest. From an Australian perspective, it was arguably the best Test they have been part of – start to finish – since Cape Town in 2014. Since then, for whatever reason, Australia has featured in mostly laborious one-sided fixtures.

Despite those feel good sentiments, Australia will have a bitter aftertaste due to grasping several chances to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and conjure perhaps the unlikeliest upset in their long proud history.

Instead, the series is level at its midpoint despite Australia bowling almost flawlessly marked by historical performances from Stephen O’Keefe, Nathan Lyon and Josh Hazelwood at various junctures in the opening two Tests.

A seismic shift of momentum

Adding to the sudden seismic shift of momentum, Australia will have to cope with the suffocating scrutiny likely to follow their every move in the aftermath of a dramatic and fiery second Test, where there is a nasty feud developing between the two hot-headed teams.

Simmering tensions between the teams boiled over on several occasions during the Test and reared when Australian captain Steve Smith looked towards the dressing room late on day four when contemplating a DRS in a self-confessed “brain fade”. Peter Handscomb, his batting partner, has taken the hit, declaring he was to blame for urging Smith to sought opinion from the dressing room.

Numerous former Indian captains have weighed in and believe the Australian captain should be sanctioned, while Australian cricket figures are, inevitably, less forthright but concede Smith’s actions were mystifying.

In a provocative press conference after the Test, Indian captain Virat Kohli accused Australia of using dressing room guidance several times during the Test but stopped short of calling it ”’cheating” –although one can read between the lines.

Relations have not been this bad between the powerhouse nations in almost a decade. Parallels have already been made to the ugly aftermath of the infamous 2008 SCG Test, where the “Monkeygate” scandal overshadowed a highly competitive series.

Smith is almost surely set to be punished – most likely a fine – but will be thrown into the ringer as bedlam inevitably ensues. There is little excuse one can plausibly make for Smith except that with the Test slipping away – a match Australia had the upper hand for the most part – he was bewildered that Australia’s dreams were suddenly unravelling amid the hostile surrounds.

Can Smith fight Kohli’s fire?

Like everyone else, notably his ecstatic opposite number, Smith knew his wicket meant Australia’s chances of consecutive memorable victories in India – something even the great McGrath/Warne teams were unable to achieve – were essentially over.

Smith has publically apologised for his actions, which on face value seem out of character for the composed baby faced batsman. Marked by his flowing blonde locks and playful grin, the 27-year-old has a youthful exterior in a notable juxtaposition to archetypal hardened images of Australian skippers in the Border/Waugh/Ponting mould.

Truth be told, the youthfulness deceives because Smith is innately ruthless and uncompromising. In many ways, a template for his captaincy arc is Allan Border, who doggedly guided the team out of the doldrums in the mid-1980s through sheer willpower.

Smith isn’t Ponting. He’s Border

Like Border, who had the moniker “Captain Grumpy” during the dark days of Aussie cricket, Smith finds it difficult to shield his emotions even though he’s been better at hiding his visible disgust when things go awry. In recent times, Smith has talked about the virtue of strong body language and setting the right example in the field for his young team, who he is trying to mould into his image.

After the shambles of Hobart last November, where Australia had embarrassingly suffered their fifth straight Test loss, Smith has superbly put a defining stamp on the team, preaching strong culture in a desperate effort to safeguard his captaincy and ensure Australia does not spiral into the abyss.

In Pune, arguably Australia’s best victory since the revered tour of the West Indies in 1995, Smith doggedly led from the front in a striking manner reminiscent of Border and Waugh. You feel the daunting challenge of tackling India in their tricky terrain spurred him to greater heights, the type of rarefied realm reserved for the absolute all-timers which Smith is quickly becoming.

However, expectedly, there are going to be some speedbumps during Smith’s journey to take Australia back to the promised land. Bengaluru was undoubtedly a setback with Australia suffering an almighty collapse to let the initiative slip coupled with Smith embroiled in controversy and unable to contain his emotions after being repeatedly pricked by Kohli et al.

Fighting fire with ice

Amid the hysteria, Kohli, ever pugnacious, has been whipping his team and fans into a frenzy in a desperate bid to shake off India’s surprising stupor – perhaps the result of fatigue after an exhausting schedule. Perhaps in an effort to rattle his opposite number, Kohli’s comments at his counterpart were laced with explosive powder – which was quite jarring in an era where political correctness normally proliferates.

It is perhaps part of an Indian game plan to unnerve Smith, who doubles as the team’s leader and best batsman magnified by brilliant Australian opener David Warner being totally befuddled by his tormentor Ravichandran Ashwin. India knows if Smith loses his cool and his concentration wavers, then the Border-Gavaskar Trophy is almost surely theirs.

Pragmatic and savvy, Smith will learn from this and no doubt receive some words of wisdom from his coach Darren Lehmann. Watching Australia disintegrate and seeing his own credibility questioned, Smith has been backed into a corner and will need to lick his wounds in time for the pivotal third Test starting on March 16.

The rest of the series, which has now had a fuse lit underneath it, shapes as an intriguing challenge both on-and-off the field for Australia. The reverberating hubbub during the upcoming week will be nothing like Smith and his players have ever experienced before.

It looms as a major litmus test in Smith’s fledgling captaincy reign.