Indian captain Kohli hit a sublime first-innings 149, as well as 51 in the second innings, during his side’s first Test defeat to England at Edgbaston. His performance subsequently made him overtake Australia’s Steve Smith’s two-and-a-half-year stint as the world’s leading batsmen in Test matches.

However, during the most recent Test series between the two sides, this time on the subcontinent, Kohli struggled massively, making just 46 runs from five innings before a shoulder injury ended his series. His opposite number, Smith, scored 499 runs at 71.29.

“He’ll be putting a bit of pressure on himself, this (a series win in Australia) will be the feather in the cap if he can pull this off,” Waugh said. “Steve Smith had an incredible series (in India last year) and made three centuries and scored about 500 runs, and Virat hardly scored a run.

“So that would have been deflating for him, and he will look to square the ledger when he comes back to Australia. I think the best way to control him is for our guys to play really positive cricket, to concentrate on executing the team plans and to score 300-plus runs in our first innings so we can put pressure on their batting line-up.

“Our attack is as good as anyone’s and, in our conditions, he’ll have to be on his game and particularly if he’s chasing some big scores that Australia have put on the board. That will put pressure on his batting.

“I think the only thing Australia can do is really control how well we’re playing. If we play really good cricket, then it’s a bit like the last series in India where Steve Smith totally dominated him.”