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In a surprising revelation made on the Grade Cricketers podcast on YouTube, Australian Test skipper Pat Cummins has acknowledged that the 2-1 loss in the 2018-19 edition of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) in Australia hurt him more than the series loss in 2020-21 by the same margin.
When asked by the hosts which of the BGT losses in Australia hurt him more, Cummins, to the hosts' surprise, chose the 2018 edition, which was more debilitating as his side was outplayed by the Indian team in at least three of the four Tests.
If the fourth Test in Sydney weren’t affected by bad light and rain on days 3, 4 and 5, India would have been in a great position to make the margin 3-1. Cummins’s decision wasn’t changed even when the hosts pointed out the absence of Steven Smith and David Warner from the defeated side.
“I actually thought that the series before was worse,” Cummins said, referring to the 2018-19 edition of the BGT.
“We got completely beaten. Whereas that series [2020-21] was quite tightly fought, I thought, and they played fantastically well to win at the Gabba. Whereas before, we were completely outplayed. That one hurt more for me.”
It’s a revealing admission from the Australian skipper that’s also counterintuitive. Australia lost the Gabba Test in Brisbane against an Indian Test side that was missing its core and featured players like T Natarajan and Washington Sundar during their recent Australia tour, who were just net bowlers.
However, key player injuries and COVID restrictions ensured that the team had to compulsorily play them, as flying backups from India wasn’t possible due to the quarantine rules.
Meanwhile, when asked what kind of pitches will Australia prepare to stop India from winning the third consecutive Test series in Australia, Cummins kept his cards close to his heart and hoped for a pitch that would have “balance between the ball and bat.”
“I don’t have any sway, so we’ll wait and see,” Cummins said when asked about the pitches for the upcoming Test series.
“But the last couple of years, the wickets have been awesome [except Sydney, as it has a lot of draws]. That’s basically it, yeah [chuckling].
“But you know it feels like, if someone has scored a hundred, they have batted the house down. It’s taken them a few sessions. My first couple of years, we have some success, but gee, some of those wickets were so flat. I just hope, like always, there is a balance between bat and ball.“
The 2024-2025 edition of the BGT will feature five Tests beginning November 22 in Perth.
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