Pat Cummins reckons Australia will have to bat like Cheteshwar Pujara and Kohli in the second innings
Cummins tried his best to bring his team back in the game.
Jasprit Bumrah dismantled Australia on the third day of the ongoing MCG Test with his figures of 6/33. They were bundled out for 151, a massive 292 runs behind India’s first innings total and, in a way, are out of the game now even as the visitors refused to enforce a follow-on only to dig a hole for themselves. Pat Cummins was their nemesis as he sent back the famed Indian middle-order for literally no score in the second innings.
India collapsed to 44/5 after being 28/0 thanks to Cummins’ leg-side trap. They ended the day with a lead of 346 runs and still have five wickets in hand going into the fourth day. While the Australian bowlers will look to bowl with similar menace in the morning on Saturday, the target seems to have gone out of their hands already. The pitch has deteriorated a lot and it will be very tough to bat fourth on it.
However, Cummins is not sleeping over it and felt that they can do wonders if Australia bat like Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli did in the first innings. The duo batted patiently together for 409 deliveries to stitch a vital stand of 170 runs for the third wicket. At that time, one felt that they were too slow, the significance of their partnership is now being understood given the way game turned on its head on the third day.
Have to face a lot of balls to score
“What we saw from India’s first innings, we saw temperament of Pujara and Virat and how they pace their innings. They absorb pressure because on this kind of wicket, it is hard to score runs. You have to face a lot of balls to get big scores and it is probably one of those wickets where you do the hard work early. Keep absorbing pressure and score later, but evidently, it did not work for us today,” Pat Cummins said while speaking in the press conference after the day’s play.
On a personal note, Cummins is having a great game as he has picked seven wickets in the game so far including the 4/10 in the second innings. He would be itching to clean up the remaining five wickets on Saturday as soon as possible.
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