Hopes high for sizzling finale
IT took Pat Cummins six years to play his second Test match, but on just five days’ rest he will be unleashed at high altitude to spearhead Australia’s date with destiny in the Himalayas.
No one quite knows what the mystery of the mountains will hold but there is intense speculation from both sides that the wicket to decide the Border-Gavaskar Trophy could be tailor-made for Cummins’ express pace.
The last time Cummins played a Test at this altitude he ripped through the thin Johannesburg air like a tracer bullet and tore South Africa to shreds on debut in a man-of-thematch performance in 2011.
India is set to add a third fast bowler, Mohammed Shami, to their squad to highlight the role pace could play in the fourth Test and, however unlikely, there could be a possibility Jackson Bird may get a look in as a third paceman for Australia.
After conquering poor tracks in Pune and Bangalore and a dead deck in Ranchi, Australia are undaunted by what their journey to Dharamsala, at the foot of the Himalayas, will bring.
Locals are expecting the wicket to stay low, but at 1457m above sea level, if there’s one man who can generate altitude sickness, it’s 150km/h runaway train Cummins.
“I think it gives the squad a massive amount of confidence, knowing we can go in and assess the pitch as quickly as we can and then play our game from there,” Peter Handscomb said yesterday.
“Obviously we did that well in Pune and we’ve had two different types of wickets again in Bangalore and Ranchi.
“So if we can assess the conditions as quickly as possible and go from there, I’m sure we’ll be fine.”
Cummins has never played back-to-back Test matches and when India kept Australia out in the field for two-and-ahalf agonising days, there were mounting concerns about how the 23-year-old might cope with the workload spike.
But Australia’s batsmen fought hard to give Cummins a day five to put his feet up after firing down 39 overs in Ranchi.
Cummins’ pace didn’t appear to drop at any stage during his Ranchi examination and although Australia’s overworked bowlers won’t do much before Saturday’s Test start, all appear to have come through unscathed.
“Steve O’Keefe bowled a crazy amount of overs but he does that at training anyway so he’s perfectly fine,” Handscomb said.
“All the boys are flying and we’ll have a couple of days off and then a light training and then into the last Test.”