By India Today Sports Desk: Pat Cummins said that Australia still had a decent chance of winning when he went out to bat on Day 5 of the opening Ashes Test at Edgbaston in Birmingham. When Cummins took the crease, Australia needed 72 runs to win with only three wickets in hand.
Soon after, Cummins lost Alex Carey, who unsuccessfully tried to hit Joe Root down the ground. From there on, the Australian skipper held his nerve, stayed unbeaten on 44 off 73 with four fours and two sixes and took his team past the finish line.
Cummins, who has been in charge of the Australian Test team since the end of 2021, and Nathan Lyon put on an unbeaten partnership of 55 runs under extreme pressure.
“Pretty good, the wicket didn't have too many demons in it. I thought it was well within our grasp,” Cummins said in the post-match presentation ceremony.
The game had loads of twists and turns with both teams trying hard to overpower each other. But in the end, it was Australia who had the last laugh.
“Both teams spoke about their styles and that's the beauty of the series. We'll both play to our strengths. Don't know which is better but makes for good entertainment,” he added.
Cummins also had words of praise for Usman Khawaja, who won the Player of the Match for his knocks of 141 and 65. Khawaja was among the leading run-scorers in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2021-23 and he started the 2023-25 cycle on a great note.
“Incredible composure, played by own methods didn't get caught up. Been class the last couple of years, to have someone like that in the middle for others to play around. I am really happy for him. He had a good feel for the wicket, everyone else tried to play their little role,” Cummins said.
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