'One of the best in the world': Cummins recognises India's game-changer after Perth defeat

Australia faced a heavy 295-run defeat in Perth, with India taking the early advantage in the Test series with a 1-0 lead.

Despite bowling India out for just 150 in the first innings, Australia appeared to be in control. However, India’s stand-in captain, Jasprit Bumrah, had other plans. He delivered a match-winning performance, taking a five-wicket haul in the first innings to dismiss Australia for a mere 105.

Bumrah then added to the damage with two crucial wickets in the final session of Day 3, leaving Australia with a mountain to climb in their chase.

Bumrah was named Player of the Match for his impressive figures of 5/30 and 3/42. Pat Cummins lauded his counterpart’s consistency, acknowledging Bumrah as one of the best bowlers in the world.

“I thought he bowled really well. He's one of the best in the world,” Cummins said. “He's always going to be a challenge, so we got to come up with ways to combat that.

“I thought particularly that Day 1, his spell, the spell from the Indian guys, made it tricky for our team to navigate through.

“He bowled well through the game, like he does most games.”

Cummins also reflected on the defeat but chose not to go into specifics of what went wrong.

“I think there were a fair few things [that went wrong for Australia]. [Getting India all out for] 150 placed us quite well,” he added. “Obviously, the game sped up that night on Day 1, they bowled terrifically well and put a dent into us.”

“Once the pitch started to slow down a little a bit, obviously we weren't well placed back out on the field and couldn't get the breakthroughs. I thought they played really well.”

“Just not much went our way this game.”

Australia’s batting has come under scrutiny in the wake of the heavy defeat, with the team being bowled out for 105 and 238 in their two innings.

Marnus Labuschagne, in particular, has faced questions about his recent form after registering single-digit scores of 2 and 3 in the match. His performance has been inconsistent lately, with an average of just 31.75 in 19 matches since 2023, a sharp decline from his career average of 48.45.

Cummins, however, refused to throw the 30-year-old under the bus, offering his full support and backing Labuschagne to bounce back strongly in the series.

“Marnus, along with few other guys in the team, didn't have the week that we would have wanted,” Cummins said. “It's no secret how hard the batter, particularly Marnus, work hard in the nets. He's always trying to find those small marginal gains.

“This week, there will be a lot of conversations with the coaches around his approach and what he could be doing differently.

“We know he's a class player. Him at his best is one of the scariest propositions for the opposition bowlers to bowl at.”

The action now shifts to Adelaide for the Day-Night pink-ball Test, starting 6 December. Despite the heavy defeat, Cummins rallied belief in the team, indicating that they would not be making wholesale changes and were confident in their ability to bounce back.

“I think after a Test you look at what you think your best match-up is. This is a sample size of one,” he said.

“Four or five days ago we thought this was our best XI. So I dare say ... there won’t be many changes going into Adelaide, but I’m not a selector. I’m sure they’ll get together after the game. We (have) got a bit of work to do over the next 10 days.”