Happy Birthday Pat Cummins: 6/27 vs India and Other Top Performances by Australia’s Pace Spearhead

Australia's pace spearhead Pat Cummins celebrates his 27th birthday on Friday (May 8, 2020). Hailing from New South Wales, the right arm pacer possesses the ability to set the speed gun on fire along with being able to swing the ball both ways. His performances over the last couple of years have been absolutely staggering in all three formats of the game. In fact, he is currently the top-ranked Test bowler while in the ODI bowling rankings, he is placed at the fourth position. Below, we'll look at some of the best bowling performances of the Aussie star. Pat Cummins the Most Complete Bowler in the World, Says Glenn McGrath.

Cummins made his international debut way back in October 2011. The 19-year-old burst onto the scenes by tormenting the South African batsman in their own backyard and looked all set to become Australia's next pace sensation. However, frequent injuries never allowed him to cement his spot. Nevertheless, he worked onto his fitness through which he just didn't cement his side in the national squad but also emerged as a world-beater. So far, Cummins has scalped 143, 105 and 36 wickets in 30 Test matches, 64 ODIs and 28 T20Is. As the talismanic pacer turns a year older, we'll revisit some of his best spells.

6/79 Vs South Africa in Johannesburg

Australia were 1-0 down in the two-match test series against South Africa in 2011. However, they were able to level the series courtesy a staggering spell by debutant Pat Cummins. After scalping just one wicket in the first innings, the young gun came to his prime in the third innings and breathed fire. Veterans like AB de Villiers and Jacques Kallis also fell prey to the 19-year-old. He took six wickets in that innings and played a crucial role in guiding the visitors to a two-wicket triumph.

4/24 Vs England in Adelaide

Cummins ran through opposition’s batting line-up during the 4th ODI of England’s 2017-18 tour of Australia. The right-arm pacer made an impeccable use of the brand new ball and dismissed the likes of Alex Hales and Joe Root in quick succession. He continued his brilliance in the middle overs and scalped the price wicket of English skipper Eoin Morgan. As a result, the visitors were bundled out for mere 196 runs and eventually lost the match by three wickets.

4/ 41 Vs New Zealand in Canberra

On a pitch where the Aussie batsman piled up 378 runs in the first innings, the Kiwi batsmen were struggling to score courtesy a sensational spell by Cummins. The occasion was the 2nd ODI of 2016 series and the venue was Canberra. On a batting-friendly wicket, Cummins just didn’t dry up the run flow but also scalped wickets in regular intervals. He dismissed the likes of Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson. Due to which, the Blackcaps were bundled out for 262 runs and lost the game by 116 runs.

6/27 Vs India in Melbourne

Another Cummins special came during the 3rd Test of India’s 2018-19 Tour of Australia. Virat Kohli and Co piled up 443 runs in the first innings. In reply, the home side was bundled out for 151 runs and their loss seemed a mere formality. However, Cummins didn’t put his guards down and bowled a blistering spell in the third innings. He dismissed the in-form Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli for a duck and gave Australia some hope. However, his efforts weren’t enough as India won the game by 137 runs.

4/39 & 6/23 Vs Sri Lanka in Brisbane

Cummins didn’t bowl just one but two stupendous spells during the 2nd Test of Sri Lanka’s 2019 Tour of Australia. In the first innings, he made an impeccable use of the red cherry and took four vital wickets. The pacer became even more lethal in the second innings of the game where he rattled the opposition batting line-up and registered his career-best figures of 6/23. Riding on his efforts, Australia won the game by an innings and 40 runs.

Courtesy his exceptional run at the international level, Kolkata Knight Riders picked the pacer for a whopping price of INR 15.5 crore during 2020 Indian Premier League (IPL) auctions, making him the second most expensive player in the tournament’s history. However, he isn’t able to showcase his blitzes in the T20 extravaganza as the marquee event has been postponed indefinitely owing to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 08, 2020 07:55 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).