Australian skipper Pat Cummins opined that his side needs to negotiate well with the Indian bowling attack spearheaded by star seamer Jasprit Bumrah if they are to win the coveted Border- Gavaskar Trophy down under. Australia will have to find a way to keep Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah quiet if they are to win the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, reckoned captain Pat Cummins on Tuesday as he drew comfort from success in last two ICC finals against their fierce rivals.
Two of the world’s finest Test-playing nations are set to face off in a five-match series beginning in November and Australia will look to take the coveted title off India’s hands following the men in blue’s recent record in the the upcoming edition of the Border- Gavaskar Trophy down under.
Jasprit Bumrah’s stellar test record worries Pat Cummins
Jasprit Bumrah has been one of the world’s best bowler since his international debut in 2016. Against Australia, Jasprit Bumrah has a stellar Test record and he was one of the main reasons why India won the BGT Down Under in 2018-19. In 7 Tests against them, Jasprit Bumrah has picked up 32 wickets, at 21.25, including a fifer at MCG. He will look to continue the good work in the upcoming series, starting from November 22.
Australian cricket team captain, Pat Cummins has expressed his admiration for Indian bowler Jasprit Bumrah. He feels that handling Bumrah’s bowling prowess will be key to Australia’s success in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The five-match series will kick-off in November with both nations fighting for the coveted title. Notably, Bumrah has enjoyed operating on Australian tracks.
Pat Cummins acknowledges Jasprit Bumrah’s threat ahead of Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25
Australian skipper Pat Cummins opined that his sides need to negotiate well with the Indian bowling attack spearheaded by star seamer Jasprit Bumrah if they are to win the coveted event.
“I’m a big fan of Bumrah. I think he’s a fantastic bowler. Hopefully, if we can keep him quiet, that is going to go a long way to winning the series,” Cummins said.
“Alongside him, he has got some other guys who haven’t played a lot over here in Australia that we haven’t seen a lot of. We’ll see how it goes,” he added.
Pat Cummins said Australia will lean on happy memories of winning the last two ICC finals — World Test Championship and ODI World Cup — against Rohit Sharma’s India.
Pat Cummins led Australia to the ICC World Test Championship and the ICC ODI World Cup titles with wins over the Indian side. The pacer also went on to praise the Indian side and their organization but sought to take inspiration from the victories.
“The last two series were a long time ago. We have got over it,” he said.
“I’ve never played alongside Rohit Sharma, so I don’t know him super well. But it has looked like the Indian team are pretty organized, pretty well-planned,” the seamer added.
“Fortunately, over the last few years, we’ve had some success in the World Test Championship final and in a different format for the ODI World Cup. We’ll be trying to lean on those memories. As I’m sure they’re trying to remember some of the previous series over here as well,” he said.
Pat Cummins also lauded the brilliance of Indian batter Cheteshwar Pujara, and opined that the series would feel different citing the veteran batter’s absence.
Pujara’s absence will give a ‘different feel’: Cummins
Pat Cummins said playing against Cheteshwar Pujara, whose stoic resistance with the bat laid the foundation of India’s away wins in 2018-19 and 2020-21, was ‘real Test cricket’.
“It was always great playing (against) Pujara. He was one of those guys who never really felt like he was getting away from you. But then he would (just) bat, bat, bat and bat,” he said.
“I really enjoyed the contest against him. Some days he won, other days I won. It’s going to have a bit of a different feel without him. Pujara is a great player.”
Just like Bumrah, Pujara, too, had a brilliant record against the Aussies. He was their chief nemesis on the two away tours of 2018, 2020, as he frustrated the Aussie bowlers with his resilience. In 25 Tests, Pujara has racked up 2074 runs, at 49.38, including 5 centuries.