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NEW DELHI: Australia captain Pat Cummins described it as a “privilege” to have a bowler of Mitchell Starc‘s caliber in the team and praised Travis Head’s blistering hundred for setting up their series-levelling victory against India in the day-night second Test on Sunday.
Rebounding from their heavy defeat in the opening Test in Perth, Australia dominated at Adelaide Oval, extending their perfect 8-0 record in pink-ball Tests with a 10-wicket win over India.
Starc’s 6-48 in the first innings dismantled India, who were all out for 180, with key wickets including Perth centurions Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli. In the second innings, Starc, the most successful pink-ball bowler, removed Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant to end India’s slim hopes.
“We know what a good unit we are, and having someone like Starc is amazing,” said Cummins, who claimed five wickets in the second innings. “He just does it time and time again. He’s done it for over a decade now. So feel very lucky and privileged.”
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However, it was local hero Head who was named player of the match for his match-defining 140. Head, who has delivered match-winning hundreds against India in the World Test Championship final and the 50-over World Cup last year, played a crucial role in giving Australia a decisive lead, eventually leading to their series-levelling victory.
“He loves batting here,” Cummins said of the left-hander. “Again, one of those momentum shifts. The game could have gone either way when he walked out to bat and he just took it straight out of their hands.”
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The defeat in just over two days brought India down after their triumph in Perth.
“What we did in Perth was very, very special, and we wanted to come out here and do that again,” said India’s captain Rohit Sharma. “But every Test match has its own challenge. We knew it was going to be challenging with the pink ball. Australia was better than us.”
Rohit, who sacrificed the opening slot for KL Rahul and batted in the middle order, scored three and six in Adelaide.
The team will now shift its focus to the third Test in Brisbane, starting Dec. 14, as they aim to retain the Border-Gavaskar trophy.
“We just want to go out there and think about what we did right in Perth, and also what we did last time when we were here. There are some really good memories. We understand the challenges of every Test match are fresh. We want to start well and play well.”
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