The elusive Border-Gavaskar Trophy finally is in Cummins’ hands as he calls it an ‘unreal’ feeling on winning it.
The elusive trophy that has been the one missing piece in an already bulging Pat Cummins trophy cabinet is finally his.
Following Australia’s six-wicket victory in Sydney to end the Border-Gavaskar series, skipper Pat Cummins says he’s incredibly delighted to have won a trophy that “a few” of his teammates did not.
“Unreal. This was one that a few of us didn’t have,” Cummins said at the post-series presentation. “It’s been an amazing series. [We’re] immensely proud. We’ve spent a lot of time together as a group over the years, so we knew we weren’t at our best at Perth, but it was never as bad as it seems. So you stick tight and double down on what makes us a really good side.”
In order to set up a chase of 162, Scott Boland took 6 for 45 in India’s second innings and finished with 10 for the Test in a performance that earned him Player of the Match. Australia fell to 58 for 3 during the chase, but Usman Khawaja, Travis Head, and Beau Webster made crucial contributions that helped the home team win.
After making 57 and 39 not out, collecting two catches, and dismissing Shubman Gill, Webster scored the game-winning runs to finish off an impressive start.
For the first time since 2014–15, Australia has reclaimed the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with the victory. The only players from Australia’s Sydney XI who participated in that series were Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, and Nathan Lyon; Mitchell Marsh and Josh Hazlewood also played in both series.
With the victory, Australia’s men now own the World Test Championship, the ODI World Cup, and every bilateral Test title they are eligible to play for. The triumph also guaranteed Australia a spot in the WTC final, where they will face South Africa at Lord’s in June to defend their title. Having never defeated India in a Test series, Cummins was thrilled to overcome the obstacle at last.
“It’s been such a special group,” Cummins said. “Feel so privileged to first of all have this job. But what we’ve been able to achieve together alongside the support staff as well, it’s such a group effort, families as well. They give up so much. So yeah, really proud with what we’ve been able to achieve.”