In front of a record attendance for a Test match in Australia – with 373,691 spectators at the MCG over the five days – captain Cummins delivered another masterclass with the ball and with his tactics to seal the victory.
India openers Jaiswal and captain Rohit Sharma started slowly to set the tone for the team’s approach, battling to 25-0 from 16 overs with just 12 scoring shots played within the first 90 balls.
However Cummins’ double-wicket maiden in the 17th over burst the door open for Australia, as Rohit edged to gully for nine and KL Rahul was caught at slip for a duck.
Three further maidens followed before Mitchell Starc removed Virat Kohli for five on the stroke of lunch with India firmly on the back foot.
But after the break they were thwarted by resistance from Pant and Jaiswal, who both adapted to the situation by calming their usual aggressive approach.
Their fourth-wicket stand of 88 was watchful and looked like saving the game until a stroke of brilliance from Cummins saw him throw the ball to part-time spinner Travis Head.
Pant could not resist attacking and clubbed a short delivery to Mitchell Marsh on the boundary which ignited Australia and opened the gates for their seamers to pounce on a nervous middle-to-lower order.
Ravindra Jadeja was caught behind off Boland for two, first-innings centurion Nitish Kumar Reddy edged Lyon to slip and when Cummins landed the hammer blow with Jaiswal edging a well-directed bouncer to wicketkeeper Alex Carey, it felt as if India’s hopes departed with him.
