From 1-0 down to Border-Gavaskar series glory - Cummins marvels Australian spirit

By Daniel Beswick at the SCG

A jubilant Pat Cummins has praised the collective of his Australian team after coming back from first Test defeat to claim a 3-1 series win over India, taking the Border-Gavaskar trophy back for the first time since 2014.

Also read: Australia claim Border-Gavaskar win and WTC25 Final spot

Not at the races in Perth back in late November, the Australians drew level in the second Test in Adelaide, before shaking off a disappointing Brisbane draw with a last-gasp victory in Melbourne to take a 2-1 lead.

Sydney's spicy surface brought about one last challenge to hang on to the advantage, though the work of Cummins and Scott Boland with the ball, and some cool from the hosts' middle order, ensured a 3-1 win.

The win also secures Australia's World Test Championship Final 2025 spot, the icing on the cake for Cummins full of plaudits for his team on a quest to defend the mace.

Also read: World Test Championship 2025 Finalists confirmed

"It felt like it was kind of see-sawing throughout the whole series. So to finish it 3-1, to hold the trophy is an amazing feeling," Cummins told reporters at the SCG.

"The extra layer is now securing a spot in the World Test Championship Final, which was always a huge goal in this cycle."

"I think being a five-Test match series it helps but you saw with the Gabba is you do start thinking anything can happen and (then the) MCG day goes down to the last hour, you do feel like you might play really well and not have a series win to show for it.

"I think as well when you start the series behind things, a lot of things get questions, fairly and unfairly, but again, I think it shows the strength of the group to kind of stay strong, know that we weren’t at our best but we can be better, not get caught up in a lot of the external noise and clutter and just focus on what makes us good players and a good team.

"And that's one of the nice and rewarding parts of this series."

When asked to pinpoint changes and adjustments following the Perth defeat, Cummins reiterated the need to not overreact.

"I think more importantly it's what you don't change.

"Of course after a loss like that (in Perth), you reassess where you're at. But we're really happy with how most of the guys were going.

"I thought we had a bad week, but I thought our game plans, methods, selection, all that was pretty much where we wanted to be, just maybe our execution was a little bit off.

"Each individual kind of had a few things to work on. I know Marnus (Labuschagne) worked so hard and wanted to change way he wanted to approach the game, for us bowlers maybe a little bit of execution as well as maybe some slight bowling changes once you've had a look at the opposition.

"But I think you can very easily panic in those situations, change a lot."

After an arm-wrestle across the first two days in Sydney, Australia asserted their dominance early on day three, cleaning up India's tails and completing the chase of 162 during the middle session of play.

Test debutant Beau Webster and Travis Head celebrated the six-wicket victory as the two unbeaten batters, backing up the work of Player of the Match Scott Boland, who claimed 10 wickets for the match.

Cummins says individual Tests bring their own unique challenges, but the journey of a World Test Championship cycle means it takes the likes of relative newcomers to challenge even a well-set and tight-knit group of players.

"One of the things I love most about Test cricket is it challenges in so many different ways.

"You need more than just 11 players. You need amazing squad, amazing support staff to be able to win everywhere in the world.

"And I think that's what we've been able to do. An amazing series in England, won the World Test Championship in England, but also some of the subcontinent too throughout the years.

"I think that consistency over a few years to do that with a very similar squad has been massive.

"I think it's more important to realise we’re number one in the world. We're a very good team. Stay strong.

Cummins' status for Australia's tour of Sri Lanka is still up in the air with partner Rebecca expecting a child during the two-Test match series, though the fast bowling all-rounder is eyeing a World Test Championship Final meeting against South Africa in June.

The skipper reiterated a burning desire to keep the World Test Championship mace in the Australian cabinet, to go alongside every bilateral Test series trophy currently held by the team, as well as the Cricket World Cup from their 2023 victory.

"It's huge for us (defending the World Test Championship crown).

"We talk about the World Test championship a lot. You know, it's the trophy we're really proud to hold. So we want to go back and defend it.

"I think it's a great tournament in that you've got to play well consistently and across all different conditions against different teams.

"And yeah, it's it's great to be there again, (we) can’t wait to get over there."