Table of Contents
Australian captain Pat Cummins accomplished a special milestone when he got rid of West Indies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite on Day 3 of the ongoing first Test at Optus Stadium in Perth.
Upon dismissing Brathwaite, Cummins claimed the landmark of registering 200 wickets in red-ball cricket. It needed a proper jaffa to end Brathwaite’s fighting knock, and Cummins came up with a sensation.
It all happened during the 55th over of the West Indies innings when the Aussie quick went for a length delivery that angled into the middle and off. The Windies captain looked to defend it and played down the accurate line. But the ball straightened just enough to go past the outside edge and hit the top of the off-stump.
Fastest to 200 Test Wickets for Australia (by matches):
- 36 – Clarrie Grimmett
- 38 – Dennis Lillee
- 41 – Stuart MacGill
- 42 – Shane Warne
- 44 – PAT CUMMINS*
- 45 – Glenn McGrath
- 46 – Graham McKenzie
- 49 – Richie Benaud, Merv Hughes, Mitchell Johnson
- 50 – Craig McDermott, Mitchell Starc
Here is the video:
Top of off stump!
200 Test wickets for Pat Cummins! #PlayOfTheDay @nrmainsurance | #AUSvWI pic.twitter.com/KAFmg2qdbg
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 2, 2022
Bowlers dominate proceedings as Australia regain control on Day 3
The day began with debutant Tagenarine Chanderpaul registering his maiden half-century in the format before he fell to Josh Hazlewood in the opening over. Cummins and his partner-in-crime Mitchell Starc were the pick of the bowlers, bagging three wickets each.
The hosts did the maximum damage when the second new ball was available. The visitors faced the heat in the final session and lost their last six wickets for 39 runs in 18.2 overs. Apart from the fast-bowling duo, spinner Nathan Lyon also picked up a couple of scalps and went past Dale Steyn‘s tally of 439 Test scalps to become the ninth leading wicket-taker in the history of Test cricket.
The Aussies bundled down the visitors for 283 before posting 29/1 on the board at stumps to take a massive lead of 344 runs with two days left in this contest.
