Australia captain Pat Cummins said it was a “privilege” to have a bowler of Mitchell Starc’s calibre at his disposal and felt Travis Head’s blistering hundred set up their series-levelling victory against India in the day-night second test on Sunday.
Smarting from their comprehensive defeat in the opening test in Perth, Australia bounced back in style at Adelaide Oval, where they now have a perfect 8-0 record in pink ball tests following the 10-wicket win over India.
Starc’s 6-48 in the first innings routed India, who were bundled out for 180, and his victims included Perth centurions Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli.
In the second innings, Starc, the most successful pink-ball bowler, removed Shubman Gill and dashed India’s slim hopes of saving the test by removing the dangerous Rishabh Pant.
“We know what a good unit we are, and having someone like Starc is amazing,” said Cummins, who claimed five wickets in the second innings.
“He just does it time and time again. He’s done it for over a decade now. So feel very lucky and privileged.”
However, it was local man Head who was adjudged player of the match thanks to his match-defining 140.
Head, who struck match-winning hundreds against India in the finals of the World Test Championship and the 50-overs World Cup last year, helped Australia to a decisive lead which eventually translated into a series-levelling victory.
“He loves batting here,” Cummins said of the lefthander.
“Again, one of those momentum shifts. The game could have gone either way when he walked out to bat and he just took it straight out of their hands.”
The defeat in a little over two days brought India down to earth after the euphoria of their Perth victory.
“What we did in Perth was very, very special, and we wanted to come out here and do that again,” touring captain Rohit Sharma said.
“But every test match has its own challenge. We knew it was going to be challenging with the pink ball. Australia was better than us.”
Rohit, sacrificing the opening slot for KL Rahul and playing in the middle order, managed three and six in Adelaide.
The team would immediately shift their focus to the third test in Brisbane, beginning on Dec. 14, as they seek to retain the Border-Gavaskar trophy, he said.
“We just want to go out there and think about what we did right in Perth, and also what we did last time when we were here.
“There are some really good memories. We understand the challenges of every test matches are fresh. We want to start well and play well.”
