This comes after the duo failed to impress with the bat throughout the recently concluded 5-match Border-Gavaskar series. While Rohit scored just 31 runs from the 5 innings he played during the series, Kohli only managed to score a total of 190 runs he played against the Aussies.

On the other hand, India pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah continued his reign at the top of the Test bowler rankings. Bumrah, who made history ahead of the fifth and final Test against Australia by recording the highest-ever ICC Rankings rating for an Indian bowler at 907 points, improved that tally by one point after taking two wickets in the first innings at the SCG.

India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant’s blistering knock of 61 in Sydney saw him climb 3 places and reach the ninth spot on the batter rankings while Yashasvi Jaiswal retained his fourth position.

Australia pacer Scott Boland made a massive 29-place jump and reached the 9th position. Boland was the star performer for the Baggy Greens in the Sydney Test, picking up a total of 10 wickets on the lively pitch. Australia skipper Pat Cummins also made significant gain in the rankings, climbing to number two after picking up 5 wickets in the final match. 

Meanwhile, South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma’s brilliant century against Pakistan saw him climb 3 spots and reach the number 6 spot while also achieving a career-best rating of 769. South Africa pacer Kagiso Rabada rose a spot and occupied the third spot in the Test bowler rankings.

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India pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and Australia skipper Pat Cummins were both among the star performers in BGT and thus rightfully received their nominations. South Africa pacer Dane Paterson, who played a key role in the Proteas’ victories over Sri Lanka and Pakistan, was also nominated for the award.

Bumrah claimed a highly impressive 22 scalps in Test matches during December. He rattled the Australian batters whenever he got the chance to do so and was undoubtedly India’s best player throughout the series. He was also awarded with the Player of the Series award for his sensational bowling performances.

On the other hand, Cummins was a standout performer with both the bat and the ball in the series against India and massively helped in guiding his team to the World Test Championship (WTC) final. Cummins showcased his fine form by claiming 17 wickets across 3 Tests against India in December at an impressive average of 17.64. The Australia skipper also played important knocks of 49 and 41 in the Melbourne Test.

Finally, Paterson played a crucial role in South Africa securing their place in the WTC final with victories over Sri Lanka and Pakistan. His figures of 5/71 against the Lankan Lions and 5/61 against the Men in Green played a key role in the Proteas’ triumphs.

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“It’s always been a a wonderful contest. More than just the runs that he scored, he brings a bit of theatre to the game which is sometimes good and sometimes it can rile you up as an opposition, which I’m sure is part of his plans,” Cummins told PTI.

“Really enjoyed playing with him. You know, he’s been one of the star batters for the last decade or so. You know, if you get his wicket it goes a long way to winning a game so yeah, it will be sad if it’s his last series,” Cummins added.

The Australia skipper also admitted that Bumrah’s absence on the final day of the series did help the Baggy Greens in comfortably chasing the target of 162 in Sydney.

“Every time he (Bumrah) bowled he seemed to have an impact and took some key wickets. So yeah, no doubt that (his absence) helped our chase a little bit,” Cummins said.

“I think you’re always surprised when the captain kind of doesn’t play. And you know, same with Ashwin retiring, but honestly it doesn’t really affect us at all. You just turn up and you see who’s going to be on the team sheet and you play whoever eleven they put out there. Honestly, it’s been very little conversation I’ve chatted with him about what’s going on there,” Cummins added.

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After registering an epic victory at the iconic Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), Pat Cummins expressed his thanks to Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah for providing him and his team with such a wonderful experience, even calling this series his most favourite one.

“Unreal. Few of us didn’t have this Trophy. Lived up to all the hype. Just been clear with our plans. We tried to be proactive, Ultimately worked, out. Immensely proud. We weren’t at our best at Perth. We had a lot of fun playing alongside each other. I love playing with these guys. Such a special group. Feel privilged to be part of such a team. Really proud of what we have achieved. Always nice to have a squad. Three debutants in this series fitted in well. They contributed in different times. Pretty happy with how I played. I had a fresh up coming into this series,” said Cummins in the post-match presentation.

“These are the big series you prepare for. Some keen moments when our main stays really stood up. You need to do that to beat a side like India. Our guys put up their hands up. Would go down one of my most favourite Test series. Thanks to Rohit and Jasprit. The fans made the series. Every venue was incredible. MCG was off its head. Three sell outs in three days here at Sydney. Shows why Test cricket is so special and why we love playing it so much. Seen everyone turning out in pink and celebrating an amazing cause is a great way to kick start the year,” he added.

However, Pat Cummins added one significant achievement that was missing from his cabinet. The immense career of Cummins got underway after he led Australia to their first World Test Championship victory in 2023. The Australian captain has now won another major trophy and has built an impressive showcase of trophies with his hands now on the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

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The 27-year completed his half-century in just 29 deliveries, just behind his own record of a 28-ball half-century against Sri Lanka in Bengaluru in 2022. Pant was eventually dismissed by Australia skipper Pat Cummins to restrict India to 124/5.

Pant headed back to the dugout after playing a highly entertaining knock comprising of 6 boundaries and 4 massive sixes.

Fastest half-centuries for India in Test cricket

28 balls – Rishabh Pant vs Sri Lanka, Bengaluru, 2022

29 balls – Rishabh Pant vs Australia, Sydney, 2025

30 balls – Kapil Dev vs Pakistan, Karachi, 1982

31 balls – Shardul Thakur vs England, The Oval, 2021

31 balls – Yashasvi Jaiswal vs Bangladesh, Kanpur, 2024

The explosive half-century also saw Pant became the only player in history to score 2 fifties in under 30 deliveries in red-ball cricket. This was his first fifty of the series and the second-fastest by anyone on Australian soil.

Following the end of second day’s play, India pacer Prasidh Krishna highly praised Pant’s fearless innings.

“All of us were sitting together, the bowlers were sitting together and watching him bat and we definitely said if I was sitting at home and watching this, I would have loved it. To be able to do it from the ground, I mean, nothing like it. I know it’s a lot of risk, but that’s the way the game is played today,” Krishna said.

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Rohit will likely be replaced by Shubman Gill in the Sydney Test. According to a report by PTI, India head coach Gautam Gambhir received a request from an ‘influential cricket administrator’ to keep Rohit in the playing XI, but it was rejected due to the fact that India’s hopes of reaching the World Test Championship final (WTC) rest on the match.

“It is learnt that an influential cricket administrator, who commands a lot of respect in the BCCI, has had a word with the head coach to explore if the skipper can be allowed to play the Sydney game and bow out from the Test arena. However, the head coach’s priority is to ensure India wins in Sydney and remains in hunt for a place in the WTC final. Such is the state of affairs that Rohit was more comfortable speaking to his deputy Bumrah and chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar than Gambhir,” the report claimed.

Ahead of the encounter against Australia in Sydney, Gambhir also refused to confirm whether Rohit will be at the toss alongside Australia skipper Pat Cummins on Friday morning.

“We will take a call on the playing XI after looking at the pitch,” Gambhir replied when asked about whether Rohit will participate in the final Border-Gavaskar series match.

Should Rohit get dropped from captaincy in Sydney Test, then pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah is expected to take over the role for the match. Bumrah did captain the Men in Blue to victory in the first Test of the series before getting replaced by Rohit for the role in the second Test.

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Marsh has endured a tough series with his last five visits to the crease not resulting in any double-digit returns. He has also sent down just 33 overs and after pulling up sore post the Perth Test.

“Mitchy obviously hasn’t quite got the runs, and perhaps wickets this series. So we felt like it was time for a freshen up and Beau’s been great,” Cummins said on the eve of the Test.

“It’s a shame for Mitchy, because we know how much he brings to the team, but feel like now it’s a good week for Beau to get a chance,” Cummins added.

Meanwhile, Webster has been sensational in first-class cricket since March 2022, averaging 57.1 while also picking up 81 wickets as well. Last year, the 31-year-old became the first player since West Indian legend Sir Garfield Sobers to score 900 runs and take 30 wickets in a Sheffield Shield season. 

“Really excited for Beau; the first thing he [Marsh] said was ‘I can’t wait to see Beau go out there and give it a crack’. Particularly here in Australia, I think when a batter misses out or gets dropped, it’s always seen as a big thing. But the way that (Australia coach Andrew McDonald), and the selectors and myself look at is we love pulling a squad of players together who we can call on at different times,” Cummins said.

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The incident happened during 5th ball of 71st over when Jaiswal tried to pull the ball away from Australian captain Pat Cummins. Australia made an appeal for the decision, but the on-field umpire turned it down. Cummins decided to take the decision to the third umpire, and that was where the controversial moment took place.

In the replay that showed, the ball seemingly deflected on its way to wicketkeeper Alex Carey, however, the Snickometer did not show any movement even though the ball clearly seemed to have deflected off Jaiswal’s gloves. Jwala Singh stated that in such decisions when the umpire is not 100% sure, then the batsman has the benefit of doubt.

“So, there is a basic rule of cricket. If there are such decisions where there is doubt and the umpire is not 100% sure, then the batsman gets the benefit of doubt. So, what happened yesterday when the on-field umpire did not give an out,” Jwala said

“And it was a very crucial shot for our India team. Because if he had played, we would not have lost the match. We would have drawn. So, when the on-field umpire did not give an out, he went through DRS and went to the third umpire. And the third umpire is totally dependent on technology. He looks at the camera and there are many other measures to judge whether the batsman is out or not,” he added.

“So, if the on-field umpire is not using a snickometer or a hotspot, I don’t know how much technology he is using. So, after looking at all these things, this decision should have been taken. If you just look at the camera and say that he is out and we will give him an out, then maybe it was an over-confident decision. Whether he was out or not, whether he hit the ball or not, I would not like to go into that topic,” he concluded.

After winning the 4th Test against India, Australia took a 2-1 lead in the five-match Test series and will now face India for the final Test match which is scheduled to begin January 3 to 7 at Sydney Cricket Stadium in Sydney.

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Fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) started chanting ‘cheater-cheater’ after the on-field umpire decided to change his decision. This happened during the 71st over of India’s second innings. Cummins gave a shorter delivery to Jaiswal, where the youngster went for a pull. This was a shot that he failed to safely connect as the ball went to the gloves of wicketkeeper.

“Oh look, I think it was just clear that he (Jaiswal) hit it,” Cummins told reporters after Australia won the match by 184 runs. “We heard a noise, saw a deviation, so it was absolutely certain that he hit it. As soon as we referred it, you could see him drop his head and basically acknowledge that he hit it. On the screen you can see he hit it,” said Cummins told media after Australia’s win.

“Ultra-edge… I don’t think anyone has complete confidence in it and didn’t really show much but fortunately there’s enough other evidence to show it was clearly out,” he said.

Coming to the match, Australia won over India by 184 runs and took a 2-1 lead in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. With this win, Australia have stepped a bit closer to the World Test Championship (WTC) Final, set to be held in England next year. The final match of the BGT is set to begin January 3, which will take place in Sydney.

The post ‘I don’t think anyone has…’: Pat Cummins makes Shocking statement on Yashasvi Jaiswal’s Controversial dismissal in MCG Test appeared first on Cricket Country.

Starc was feeling discomfort on his back during the third day of the Boxing-Day Test at the MCG. Even after the pain, he continued to bowl, which has raised concerns about his availability for the upcoming Sydney Test. However, Cummins has confirmed about Starc’s fitness to be closely monitored, and Initial assessments hint out positive outcomes.

For now, Cummins has stated that Starc is on his way to gain full fitness since the time comes for the Sydney Test, which is set to begin January 3. Starc remained wicketless in the first innings and managed to take just one wicket in the second innings.

“I think every fast bowler knows it, the first ball of a spell when you’re a bit sore, it’s always hurts a little bit more. So yeah, I’m pretty confident he’ll be fine. We’ll reassess in a couple of days but yeah, he’s managing a couple of sore bits, looked like his ribs or something. But he’s a warrior. He gets through. He never even contemplates not being an option to bowl. So, yeah, other than being in pain, he’s fully fully fit and available,” Cummins said in the post-match press conference.

The victory against India in the Boxing-Day Test has proved to be a massive confidence boost for Australia to qualify for the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 final. Australia will be eyeing to secure another victory in the Sydney Test to finally secure their chances. Mitchell Starc being present with the team is going to be crucial for the final match.

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