Cummins ‘hurting’ after Australia’s crushing Test loss

Oliver Caffrey |

Travis Head made 89 but couldn’t stem the Indian tide as Australia crashed to first Test defeat.
Travis Head made 89 but couldn’t stem the Indian tide as Australia crashed to first Test defeat.

Captain Pat Cummins has described the “hurt” of Australia crashing to their heaviest home Test defeat by runs against India, marking a disastrous start to their bid to reclaim the Border-Gavaskar trophy.

After bowling India out for 150 on day one, Australia were annihilated for the rest of the match, slumping to a record 295-run smashing at Optus Stadium.

Following up a dismal 104 – their lowest Test total against India at home for 44 years – Australia showed at least some fight in their second innings on Monday, before being dismissed for 238 soon after tea on day four.

Australia’s previous largest home Test loss against India by runs was 222 at the MCG in 1977, when their side was heavily impacted by World Series Cricket.

“You sit in the change room after a loss like that, and it hurts,” Cummins said.

“When a team declares on you, it’s never an amazing feeling.

“We’ve all been in these situations before.

“It’s the nature of professional sport, you’re going to lose some games.

“The biggest challenge and the most important thing is how do you bounce back? What’s your next move?”

India players celebrate a wicket.
So soon after a 3-0 home loss to New Zealand, India were jubilant winners in Perth. (Dean Lewins/AAP PHOTOS)

Jasprit Bumrah excelled as India’s stand-in captain in the absence of Rohit Sharma, certifying his claim to be one of the finest bowlers to have toured Australia.

The pace machine finished with match figures of 8-92, following a five-wicket haul in the first-innings with another three scalps on Monday.

Bumrah, whose career average sits at 20.06, has 40 wickets at 18.86 from eight Tests in Australia at the start of his third tour here.

The 30-year-old set the tone for India’s stunning triumph with his fearsome bowling and bold captaincy.

With India having already batted for a day and a half, making Australia swelter in the Perth heat, Bumrah decided to declare on 6-487 late on Sunday to have a crack at the hosts’ brittle top order.

The move was immediately rewarded as Bumrah struck twice in the 30 minutes before stumps and Australia collapsed to 3-12 chasing a record target of 534.

“Almost as good as you would want,” Bumrah said.

“(Sunday) was perfect.

“We wanted to bowl in the evening. We wanted two wickets, but we got more than that. We couldn’t ask for anything more.”

Mitch Marsh.
Mitch Marsh’s dismissal by Nitish Kumar Reddy heralded an early end for Australia on day four. (Dean Lewins/AAP PHOTOS)

But Bumrah’s declaration only came after batting icon Virat Kohli (100 not out) awoke from his slumber to post his seventh Test century in Australia.

Coming to the crease with India cruising at 2-275, Kohli was able to play with freedom and return to the Test form that had deserted him for most of the past five years.

But it wasn’t just the King Kohli show in Perth, with whiz kid opener Yashasvi Jaiswal announcing himself as one of world cricket’s brightest stars with a brilliant 161 in his first Test on Australian soil.

After a first-innings duck, the 22-year-old toyed with Australia’s star-studded bowling attack, even sledging Mitchell Starc about his pace, to hammer home India’s advantage.

While India’s batters fired, responding after a recent historic 3-0 home whitewash against New Zealand, Australia will be left scrambling for answers ahead of the second Test in Adelaide.

Marnus Labuschagne.
Marnus Labuschagne is one of several questions for Australia to answer before the second Test. (Dean Lewins/AAP PHOTOS)

Marnus Labuschagne’s decline remains the major worry after he fell for scores of two and three, unsuccessfully burning a review when he was lbw in each innings.

The former No.1 ranked Test batter is averaging just 24 this year and his last century came in July 2023.

Only new fathers Travis Head (89) and Mitch Marsh (47) showed any significant fight, sparing Australia from greater embarrassment.

It is only India’s second Test win in Perth – and the first since their triumph at the WACA Ground in 2008.

Australia last won a Border-Gavaskar series in 2014-15, with India holding the trophy since 2017, which has included winning on their past two tours to this country.

The last time Australia recovered from a 1-0 deficit and came back to win a Test series was in the 1997 Ashes in England.

AAP