NEWS
Follow UsAfter a massive defeat in the first Test, Australia bounced back with a 10-wicket win in Adelaide to level the five-match series 1-1. With this win, the Aussies move to the top of the World Test Championship (WTC) table and are in pole position to play the final in Lord's next year.
Like most India-Australia matches, there were a few heated moments on the field. On this occasion, it was the send-off Mohammed Siraj gave to Travis Head after dismissing him.
The controversy went off the field as well, with Siraj calling Head a liar after the latter claimed that he just said 'well bowled' to Siraj after getting out. Asked to weigh in on it, Australia captain Pat Cummins downplayed the incident, saying that such things happen in a series of this magnitude.
"It is heated, it is a big series, it has been packed with crowds on all days and so there is a lot riding on it. I think the umpire stepped in pretty quickly, and that was the end of it," Cummins said at the post-match press conference.
The Australia captain was also quick to praise Head for taking the game away from India. Head counterattacked with 140 off just 141 deliveries to help Australia take a 157-run first-innings lead.
“Every time he walks out, the game is kind of in the balance and within the space of a session or so, he really took the game out of their hands. He is super impressive," Cummins, who picked up a fifer in the second innings, said.
Speaking of his 5/57, Cummins said, “I was pretty pumped up. It probably felt like some big wickets in the context of the match. I was pretty excited, more so than normal.”
However, he was also quick to praise his fellow pacers Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland for their herculean effort on Day 1, which saw India bundled out for just 180. “It was a herculean effort from Starc and Scotty on the first day. It was hot, close to 40 degrees, it was a huge effort from these guys," he said.
After that, though, a superb partnership between Marnus Labuschagne and Nathan McSweeney put Australia in pole position in the match. In fact, Cummins believes that the duo's batting under the lights on Day 1 was gutsy. "That was really gutsy what those guys did on that first night," Cummins said.
"You look back to Perth, it's those small moments that if you win them and suddenly you wake up the next day and it's a different day. Think that was a really good lesson and it was really gutsy to get through that period and meant some of the other guys later on could cash in."
This win also gives Cummins the belief that Australia are back to their best. "This week we were back to our best, the team I remember and how we want to play our cricket so really satisfying," Cummins said.
"I was pretty pumped up. Probably felt like some big wickets in the context of the match. Especially the pink ball, feels like the margins have been quite small so maybe just pretty excited - more so than normal."
With the series level, there's all to play for in the third Test in Brisbane, which will begin from December 14 (Saturday) onwards.
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