'Make Virat Kohli your best mate' – Dean Jones' advice to Australia

Writing in his column for Sydney Morning Herald, Jones praised the Indian star for his off-side play, remarking that looking for a weakness in Kohli's game is akin to trying to spot a flaw in the Mona Lisa.

"On his last tour to Australia he was just awesome with four centuries in eight innings," Jones wrote on Kohli. "He hits amazing cover drives and whips through mid-wicket with monotonous ease."

Kohli dazzled on his last Test tour to Australia with 692 runs from four games at 86.50 with four centuries and one half-century, and finished the four-Test series as the second-highest scorer, only behind Australia's Steve Smith.

"Kohli hits a boundary every 13 balls off pace bowling in Australia. On the recent tour to South Africa, Kohli hit one out of three boundaries through the covers off the quicks," Jones pointed out.

"Trying to find a weakness in Kohli’s game is like trying to find something wrong with the Mona Lisa. Teams must stop his cover drive and bowl in different areas."

The 30-year-old's recent Test form has been spectacular. He was the top-scorer from either side on India's tour of England in August-September this year with 593 runs from 10 innings with two centuries and as many half-centuries, and also scored a hundred against the Windies at home last month.

Jones pointed to the corridor outside the right-hander's off-stump as a possible area to target. "At the start of Kohli’s innings, quicks need to bowl at a fourth-stump line and make him play on the back foot," Jones wrote.

"Kohli doesn’t cut that much with the length being short or back of length. Do not give him width and length outside off-stump. Bowlers must try to set him up with short stuff first and then the odd wide ball on the drive to find the edge. Slips and gully stay on high alert.

"Do not talk or provoke him. Make him your best mate."

India begin their attempt to win a first Test series in Australia with the first Test at Adelaide Oval, where Kohli had scored a hundred in each innings on the last tour, from 6 December.

As far as Jones is concerned, "India are miles better than Australia in all formats", and in the absence of Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft, "if India don’t win this series, they will never win in Australia".