Brisbane [Australia], December 17: Australian captain Pat Cummins reached a significant milestone in his career during the third Test against India in Brisbane, surpassing legendary figures Garfield Sobers (West Indies) and Daniel Vettori (New Zealand) to become the third-highest wicket-taker as a Test captain.
Cummins achieved this feat during India’s first innings, where he was relentless with the ball, targeting the Indian middle-order. His outstanding spell saw him dismiss Rishabh Pant, Rohit Sharma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Ravindra Jadeja. This brought his tally to 119 wickets as a Test captain, surpassing Sobers and Vettori. Cummins now trails only Australia’s Richie Benaud (138 wickets) and Pakistan’s Imran Khan (187 wickets) in the all-time list.
In the match, India won the toss and opted to field first. On Day 1, India appeared to have the upper hand after a wicketless spell lasting 13 overs, before dismissing Usman Khawaja (21), Nathan McSweeney (9), and Marnus Labuschagne (12), reducing Australia to 75 for 3.
However, a commanding 241-run partnership between Steve Smith (101 off 190 balls) and Travis Head (152 off 160 balls) swung the momentum back in Australia’s favour. Despite a breakthrough by Bumrah (5/72), which broke the stand, Australia ended Day 2 in a dominant position at 405 for 7, with Alex Carey (45*) and Mitchell Starc (7*) at the crease.
On Day 3, Carey added 70 more runs (in 88 balls, with seven fours and two sixes), and Starc contributed 18 runs, pushing Australia to 445 all out in 117.1 overs. Bumrah was the standout bowler for India, taking 6/76, with Siraj claiming two wickets and Nitish Kumar Reddy and Akash Deep picking up one each.
In response, India struggled early, losing Yashasvi Jaiswal (4), Shubman Gill (1), Virat Kohli (3), and Pant (9). However, KL Rahul stood firm with an unbeaten 33* at the close of Day 2.
On Day 4, India fought back with solid half-centuries from Rahul (84 off 139 balls) and Ravindra Jadeja (77 off 123 balls). Tailenders Akash Deep (27* in 31 balls) and Jasprit Bumrah (10* in 27 balls) also chipped in, helping India avoid a follow-on and finish their first innings at 252/9 by the end of Day 4.
The series is currently level at 1-1, with two more matches to go.