Pat Cummins Hails Boxing Day Test Win as One of His Best Performances
After leading Australia to a dominant 184-run victory over India in the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Australia captain Pat Cummins described the win as one of the best matches he has been a part of. The victory gave Australia a 2-1 lead in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Cummins was named the Player of the Match, receiving the Johnny Mullagh Medal, which is awarded to the standout performer of the game. The medal is named after the star player from the 1868 Aboriginal tour of England. In the Test, Cummins made significant contributions with both bat and ball. He scored valuable knocks of 49 and 41, and with the ball, he took impressive figures of 3-89 and 3-28 in the two innings.
Speaking in the post-match presentation, Cummins expressed his excitement: “What an amazing Test match, I reckon one of the best I’ve been part of. All week the crowd has been ridiculous, and it’s been amazing to be part of. Marnus [Labuschagne] helped me out in that second innings big time, happy to contribute,” he said.
Reflecting on Australia’s performance, Cummins highlighted the importance of a strong first-innings total and contributions from the lower order. “Amazing innings from Steve [Smith], winning the toss, it wasn’t easy on the first day, to get up to high 400s was terrific. We put a lot of work into our lower-order batting, we work a lot on how best to bowl to the opposition batters firstly, but also how we can contribute with the bat.”
He also elaborated on the strategy behind not declaring overnight, which was aimed at reducing the chances of an Indian win. “We wanted to take an India victory out of the equation. We had plenty of runs to play with, and as many helmets around the bat as we could.”
On the bowling front, the Australian team’s plan to tackle Rishabh Pant worked effectively, with Travis Head being used strategically as a bowler in the second innings. “We were a bit behind on the over rate, so we thought, get Trav in there, it may help us out with that. Him bowling to Pant was an idea by the coaching staff. Very happy change room, we’ll savour this for a little bit before we get to Sydney,” said Cummins.
Head, who took the crucial wicket of Pant, reflected on his role, noting that despite a quiet match with the bat, he was pleased to contribute with the ball. “I’ve had four and a half days, didn’t do much with the bat, happy to contribute. The plan to Pant was to have everyone on the fence and bowl a rank one.”
Left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc also praised the unwavering belief in the Australian camp. “There’s always belief in this group, it’s been a feature of this group over the years. Calmness and ability to adapt to situations,” said Starc.
With a commanding victory in Melbourne, Australia now looks ahead to the final Test of the series in Sydney, where they will aim to seal the series win.
