Pat Cummins broke a 43-year-old record to register the best figure by a captain at the iconic Lord’s. In the World Test Championship (WTC) finale against South Africa, the Australia captain wreaked havoc, dismissing Wiaan Mulder, Temba Bavuma, David Bedingham, Kyle Verreynne, Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada to complete his six-wicket haul. Notably, Bob Willis set the record in 1982 with a five-wicket haul against India. Cummins broke it with six wickets to his name.
Cummins also completed 300 wickets in Test cricket. He needed six wickets to achieve the milestone and in the first innings itself, the Australia captain dominated after the lunch break and got the job done single-handedly. Courtesy of his brilliant spell, Australia managed a 74-run lead in the first innings.
South Africa batters fail to live up to the expectations
After dismissing Australia for 212 runs in the first innings, South Africa had a perfect opportunity to bat well and take a lead in the WTC final. However, the Temba Bavuma-led side failed to live up to the expectations. The openers Aiden Markram and Ryan Rickelton made 0 and 16, respectively while the middle order collapsed in no time.
The captain tried to keep the scoreboard ticking, scoring 36 runs, while batting at six, David Bedingham made 45. After Bavuma departed, wickets fell like a house of cards as South Africa never seemed to be in control. The tailenders too failed to get going as the Proteas were bundled for 138 runs.
Apart from Cummins’ six, Mitchell Starc picked up two wickets and Josh Hazlewood picked one. Australia will now hope to produce a better performance with the bat and take a healthy lead to put South Africa under further pressure. All eyes will be on Marnus Labuschagne and Usman Khawaja, who struggled with the bat in the first innings.
