IND v AUS 2020: Pat Cummins compares his rivalry with Virat Kohli to contests between Glenn McGrath and Brian Lara
Australia fast bowler Pat Cummins recently spoke about targeting the wicket of Indian captain Virat Kohli in the first Test of the forthcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The four-match Test series begins with a pink-ball game at the Adelaide Oval on December 17.
During a virtual media interaction from Adelaide on Friday, Pat Cummins invoked the yesteryear battles between Glenn McGrath and Brian Lara and illustrated how the contest used to grab eyeballs.
“Growing up as kids, these are the contests that you tuned into TV for. I remember McGrath bowling to Lara. You had to watch it because you knew something was going to happen. I like being in those moments, let’s see what happens this summer,” Pat Cummins said.
The 27-year-old speedster drew parallels with his personal contest against Virat Kohli. Pat Cummins has snared the wicket of the visiting skipper four times in five Test matches, and he would look to further that tally in the upcoming pink-ball Test.
“I know he’s the captain. So of course, you want to get into that contest because it’s a really important part of the game...When you are in the moment, you try and lift yourself a little bit. You sense it at the wicket when someone walks out there. But in terms of how it affects the overall storyline, I don’t think about too much,” Cummins added.
‘The bowlers will be talking to each other and come out with some plans,’ says Pat Cummins
Virat Kohli has always enjoyed batting on Australian soil, but it was Cheteshwar Pujara who was the architect of India’s historic 2-1 Test series win Down Under in 2018-19. The batting mainstay played a mammoth 1258 balls and amassed 521 runs across four Tests to help India beat the hosts.
Earlier this week, the 32-year-old scored a gritty 54 in the first innings of the first warm-up game at the Drummoyne Oval in Sydney before being castled by Michael Neser in the second essay for a duck. Commenting on the big fish, Pat Cummins admitted he will have a chat with Neser about getting Pujara out early.
“To be honest, we haven’t spoken yet. We only got into the camp a couple of days ago. We will sit down and have a couple of meetings and like we do at most training sessions, the bowlers will be talking to each other and come out with some plans," Cummins stated.
“I must concentrate on what I do well as a bowler and the same goes for the other guys. Of course, you might tweak your plans slightly for a certain batter, but hopefully, a couple of years on, we are all better equipped as bowlers,” Pat Cummins concluded.
Virat Kohli will fly back to India to attend the birth of his first child after the Adelaide Test. India will try and retain the coveted Border-Gavaskar Trophy under the leadership of stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane.