

Patrick Cummins had just nicked off Hasan Ali and indulged in the most modest of his many wicket celebrations for the day. There was nothing more than a punch in the air, a couple of high-fives followed by a pat on the head to Steve Smith for having taken a nice, low catch. It was his third wicket in eight deliveries. In the space of 10 or so minutes, he'd completely dismantled the Pakistani lower-order.
But even as the rest of his teammates gathered around their delighted skipper, Cummins the bowler had turned into Cummins the captain. He broke away from the pack to have a quick chat with Mitchell Starc. Cummins then returned to explain to Cameron Green, who he'd asked to warm up and replace Starc at the opposite end, very respectfully why he'd changed his mind. Green of course had no qualms about it.
Australia had seized the moment in incredible fashion at the Lahore Stadium on Wednesday (March 23). They'd taken five Pakistani wickets for 20 runs. But Babar Azam still stood guard and stood tall at one end.