‘It’s a dream ball’

Australia skipper Pat Cummins said that he produced a 'dream ball', the outcome of which was even unknown to him, to get rid of Pakistan's star batter Babar Azam on Day 2 of their Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Wednesday.

With Pakistan reeling at 194 for six, still 124 runs behind of Australia's first innings score of 318, the hosts remain in the driving seat.

At stumps, Mohammad Rizwan was on 29 and Aamer Jamal not out two after Cummins took the crucial wickets of Abdullah Shafique (62) and Babar Azam (one), then Agha Salman (five).

At 124 for the loss of one, Pakistan seemed to be gaining the ascendancy for the first time all series. However, all it took Cummins to turn the Boxing Day Test were four balls, and two wickets -- one of his victims is among the best batters on the planet in Babar, and the other, Abdullah, is tipped to become just as good.

Cummins' ball that nipped back and bowled Babar will be replayed often in the coming years. During the post-match press conference, Cummins shed light on his game plan to dismiss Babar.

"It's a dream ball," Cummins said of his latest effort to dismiss Babar. "It's what you try to bowl most balls, but it's rare that it comes off.

"That wasn't a deliberate ball to seam in. It's fifty-fifty whether it will seam in or out. You try to create a bit of an angle, and if I don't know what it's doing, hopefully the batter doesn't know either.

"Swing is a bit more predictable -- the batter sees it a bit earlier and the margins are a bit smaller. I try and swing the odd one but it's rare -- most of the time, I'm trying to get a bit of seam off the wicket," he added.

After needing just three deliveries to knock over Babar for the second time in as many innings, Cummins capped his day by changing ends and snagging another top-order wicket when Salman Ali Agha edged behind.