Sydney [Australia], January 5 : Following his side's win in the final Test at Sydney Test, Australian skipper Pat Cummins lauded star India batter Virat Kohli for his brilliant performances Down Under throughout the years, saying that the team enjoyed playing with him and that the runs and "theatre" he would bring with his arrival made him truly special.
India lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to Australia after 10 years, succumbing to Aussies by six wickets in the final Test at Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) and losing the series 1-3. Virat had a horror BGT except for a century at Perth as he struggled with balls outside off-stump and Scott Boland, who dismissed him four times.
He ended up scoring just 190 runs in nine innings and five innings at an average of 23.75, with an unbeaten 100* hit during the first Test at Perth. While his century at Optus Stadium sparked fresh hope and optimism of another Test peak, Virat's bat failed to roar in upcoming matches, as he managed scores of 7, 11 (Adelaide), 3 (Brisbane), 36, 5 (Melbourne) and 17, 6 (Sydney).
Speaking after the match, Cummins said on Virat, "It has always been a wonderful contest with Virat. It is more than runs. Sometimes, it is the theatre. The boys really enjoyed playing with him. I have always really enjoyed playing with him. You know, he is been one of the star batters for the last decade or so. So, you know, if you get his wicket it goes a long way to winning a game. So, yeah, I would be sad if it is his last series."
In 18 Tests held in Australia, Virat scored 1,542 runs at an average of 46.72, with seven centuries and four fifties in 34 innings, with best score of 169. He has hit the highest number of centuries by an Indian and second-highest runs in Australia as an Indian batter.
Coming to the SCG Test, India won the toss and elected to bat first. India was off to a disappointing start yet again as the top order threw away their wickets, especially Virat Kohli (17) who continued his struggles with outside off-stump deliveries.
However, the fight by Pant (40 in 98 balls, with three fours and a six), Ravindra Jadeja (26 in 95 balls, with three fours) and skipper Jasprit Bumrah (22 in 17 balls, with three fours and a six) pushed India to 185/10 in 72.2 overs.
Boland (4/31) was the pick of the bowlers for the Aussies and once again a thorn in the eyes of Indian batters. Mitchell Starc took 3/49 while Pat Cummins got 2/37.
In their first innings, Australia lost wickets at regular intervals even when Jasprit Bumrah (2/33) walked off the field due to an injury scare. Under the stand-in skipper Virat, India continued to dominate the Aussies, skittling them out for just 181 runs and taking a four-run lead. Debutant Beau Webster (57 in 105 balls, with five fours) had a fine showing with the bat and Steve Smith (33 in 57 balls, with four boundaries and a six) showed some attacking intent.
Prasidh Krishna (3/42) and Mohammed Siraj (3/51) were the top bowlers for India.
With a lead of four runs, India was off to a promising start thanks to Yashasvi Jaiswal (22 in 35 balls, with four boundaries) and KL Rahul (13) as they put on a 45-run stand. But Boland (6/45) troubled the Indian batting once again. Pant did put up a counter-attack with 61 in 33 balls (six fours and four sixes), but India was bundled out for 157 runs, setting up 162 for the Aussies to win. Bumrah could not bowl in the final innings.
Australia was in trouble for a while during chase of 162 runs at 58/3, but knocks from Usman Khawaja (41 in 45 balls, with four boundaries), Travis Head (34* in 38 balls, with four boundaries) and Webster (39* in 34 balls, with six fours) guided the team to a six-wicket win, despite fight put up by Prasidh Krishna (3/65).
Boland was the 'Player of the Match' for his ten-wicket haul while Bumrah walked away with the 'Player of the Series' award with 32 wickets.