Last year, Nathan Lyon incurred the wrath of Virat Kohli by referring to India's captain as the head of the snake.
Josh Hazlewood was more diplomatic on Monday and didn't also use Dale Steyn's turn of phrase that upset Kohli so much but the message was similar.
Hazlewood described India's batting order as the best in the world but also made it clear that Kohli's prized scalp could have a knock-on effect.
"They feed a lot off him and how he goes about things," he told reporters.
"If we can get on top of them early, hopefully that filters through.
"They've played a lot at home since we played them last in Australia. They toured England and South Africa and it was only Virat who stood out.
"A lot of the other batsmen haven't scored too many of the runs."
South Africa spearhead Steyn famously philosophised that "if you can cut off the head of the snake, the rest of the body tends to fall" when describing the value of Steve Smith and David Warner's wickets.
England and South Africa both failed to curb Kohli's influence this year, when he topped the run-scoring charts in both series losses.
Kohli's teammates failed to back up their captain, generally folding meekly in bowling-friendly conditions.
They're likely to encounter flatter pitches in the four-Test series that starts on Thursday but Australia's attack remains confident, having proven last year in India they can subdue the world's best batsman.
Kohli managed 46 runs at 9.2 last year against Australia, comfortably his worst Test series.
The captain's Test average in Australia though is an incredible 62, while he tallied 692 Test runs during India's previous tour here.
"We'll obviously have a chat about him," Hazlewood said.
"With a player of that calibre you need a few options. It'll depend on conditions and the wickets we get, as to what plan we go with.
"He's one of those guys who can score pretty freely, a number of the guys in this Indian side can, but sometimes those risks bring the most rewards."
The reliable right-armer wouldn't be drawn on specifics, noting only the Test squad has and will continue to study footage of India's batsmen.
Kohli has previously used words and willow in battles with Australia. Hazlewood suggested it'd be up to individuals as to how they respond if the batsman peppers them with barbs.
"Virat obviously thrives on that sort of stuff. It gets him going and he probably plays his best cricket when he's doing that," Hazlewood said.
"I'm usually pretty quiet when I'm bowling."
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