Cummins conceded it was a Test to forget for Australia, who after a decent first stint with the ball capitulated early in both innings as Bumrah ran riot, finishing with match figures of 8-72.
“Not an ideal way to start the summer. You sit in the change room after a loss like that and it hurts,” Cummins said. “When a team declares on you it’s never an amazing feeling. We’ve all been in these situations before, it’s the nature of professional sport, you lose some games.
“The biggest challenge and the most important thing is how do you bounce back, what’s your next move. That’s what we need to do this week. We were clearly well off the mark, there’s a lot to work on, so the most important thing is there’s four Test matches to come. How do we make sure we aren’t in this position again?”
Alex Carey is bowled to seal Australia’s defeat.Credit: Getty Images
Cummins said the damage was done on day one, when the Australians collapsed in their first innings after bowling India out for 150. The home side struggled to a total of 104 before young Indian opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and batting great Virat Kohli took the game away from them in the second innings.
“We didn’t give ourselves a chance in a few different facets. I think late on day one, if we had just got through that period of the game, it looks a little bit different on day two. Obviously, a couple of big partnerships [from India] when we were bowling [didn’t help],” Cummins said.
An impressive innings of 89 from Travis Head and 47 from Mitch Marsh were the only real highlights of the first two sessions of day four as Australia did their best but couldn’t get anywhere near the mammoth target. Man of the match Bumrah and fellow quick Mohammed Siraj took three wickets apiece to land an early psychological blow in the five-Test series.
With Cummins making just two runs on Sunday evening as Australia’s nightwatchman, it is was a historic low for the top four in this Test. Across eight individual innings, Nathan McSweeney, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith and Cummins combined for just 29 runs.
Never before has an Australian top four made fewer runs in a Test. The next worst was the combined 38 runs made by Australia’s No.1 to No.4 in a Test against England in Manchester in 1888. On two other occasions in 1888, at Lord’s and the SCG, Australia’s top four made just 40 runs combined.
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Cummins backed Labuschagne to be back in the runs in Adelaide.
“It’s no secret how hard the batters, particularly Marnus, works in the nets,” Cummins said. “He’s always trying to find those small marginal gains. This week there will be a lot of conversation with the coaches around his approach and what he could be doing differently. We know he’s a class player. Him at his best is one of the scariest propositions for bowlers.”
Head always relishes the chance to take the game on and showed that early on day four with positive shot selection and crisp timing. He eventually edged Bumrah behind, 11 runs short of a century, before Marsh chopped a ball back onto his stumps.
It would have taken a miracle for Australia to chase the target of 534. The highest successful run chase in Test cricket is 418, achieved by the West Indies in 2003 against Australia at Antigua.
Instead, they were bowled out for 238, humbled by the tourists in their own backyard and with questions swirling about their selections and preparation.
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