Virat Kohli began the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 with a second innings hundred (100*) at Perth, but he managed to amass only 90 runs in his other eight innings combined.
The age-old problem of fishing outside the off stump led to Kohli’s downfall throughout the tour, with Australian quicks Scott Boland, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc exposing his weakness.
The Sydney Test, which the hosts won by six wickets to clinch the BGT 3-1 after a decade, is likely to have marked Kohli’s last on Australian soil as rumours of his retirement from the longest format is doing rounds in the media.
After the game, Australian captain Pat Cummins hailed Virat Kohli as a great competitor who makes the game lively with his theatrics and he will be "sad" if this end up being the Indian stalwart’s last tour Down Under.
"It's always been a wonderful contest. More than just the runs that he scored, he brings a bit of theatre to the game which is sometimes good and sometimes it can rile you up as an opposition, which I'm sure is part of his plans," Cummins said in a response to a PTI query.
"Really enjoyed playing with him. You know, he's been one of the star batters for the last decade or so. You know, if you get his wicket it goes a long way to winning a game so yeah, it will be sad if it's his last series."
Cummins acknowledged that Bumrah's absence did help them in the second innings at SCG, considering the Indian pace spearhead picked up 32 wickets in the series.
"Every time he (Bumrah) bowled he seemed to have an impact and took some key wickets. So yeah, no doubt that (his absence) helped our chase a little bit."
Although he called it Indian team's internal matter, Cummins was a bit surprised with Rohit Sharma's decision to step aside from the Sydney Test due to poor form.
"I think you're always surprised when the captain kind of doesn't play. And you know, same with Ashwin retiring, but honestly it doesn't really affect us at all.
"You just turn up and you see who's going to be on the team sheet and you play whoever eleven they put out there. Honestly, it's been very little conversation I've chatted with him about what's going on there," Cummins said.
He labelled the win against India as "huge" in the context of the BGT rivalry, having lost twice at home previously.
"No, it's a huge win in the context of this series. It's as big a series as you get to play at home. It felt like it was kind of see-sawing throughout the whole series. So to finish it 3-1 to hold the trophy is an amazing feeling," Cummins said.
"...... and I think the extra layer is now securing a spot in the World Test Championship Final which was always a huge goal for us in this cycle."
Cummins has been a part of T20 World Cup winning squad, led Australia to Ashes series win, ODI World Cup title and WTC triumph in 2023. He has now added the India series win in his glittering CV as well.
When asked if he has any succession plan in place, Cummins replied: "First of all I just absolutely love what I do. So, I mean that's probably the biggest driver in wanting to play Test Cricket and work with this team and support staff."
Does he feel that he has done it all? "Unfortunately, I have got to keep playing. We'll stay on this side guys and then we'll come over here," he quipped.
(With PTI Inputs)
