Cummins picked ten in the match ©AFP
Shan Masood had found his flow. Babar Azam had found his feet. Pakistan had found some belief. Then on came Pat Cummins.
The partnership between the two senior batters had grown to 61. The scoring rate for the visitors in their run-chase had sailed past 4-an-over. The momentum had gradually begun to shift towards Pakistan. Then on came Pat Cummins.
It took him all of three deliveries to shake you back into your senses. It took him all of three deliveries to remind you of the improbability of the task ahead. It took him all of three deliveries to re-establish the ascendancy for Australia, as if it was in threat to start with.
That's what he does though. For such a nice fellow, Pat Cummins is after all the ultimate grinch when it comes to those who dare to dream against his team on the cricket field. Regardless of whether you are the opposition hoping to pull off a heist or a neutral hoping quietly for a thriller. Not because he's bad. But because he's simply that good, if not the best. And he's also got a heart that's two sizes too big, especially when he's got a ball in his hand.
So much so that as he brought himself back into the attack and stood at the top of his mark, you couldn't help but go, "Oh here comes Cummins. We all know how this script plays out now," on the radio. For, there was an unmistakable sense of inevitability to it. There always is with Cummins.
Probably Masood knew it as well. And you could sense the resignation in the way the Pakistan captain threw his head back after Cummins had got the ball to straighten from around the wicket to catch the left-hander's outside edge. Masood wasn't the only one who knew it was coming. He simply was the one who had to wear the brunt of it.
The dream wasn't over it but it surely had been dented.
A few hours later, Pakistan dared to dream again. For the second time on the fourth day of the second Test. So did the smattering of cricket romantics, tragics even, at the MCG. This time it was a partnership between Mohammad Rizwan and Agha Salman Ali. Rizwan had found his flow. Salman had found his feet on Australian soil. Pakistan had found some belief again. Then on came Pat Cummins.
The partnership between the two adventurous right-handers had grown to 57. The scoring rate for the visitors had picked up too. The run-chase seemed to be on track again. Then on came Pat Cummins.
At least this time, to Pakistan's credit, it took him 10 deliveries to shake us all back into our senses. And yes, there will be a lot said about the Rizwan dismissal over the next few days, especially with team director
