Pat Cummins is spearheading Australia’s bowling unit in the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) 2025 final against South Africa at Lord’s. With four more wickets on the second day, he has taken his tally in the WTC 2023–25 cycle to 78 wickets, surpassing Jasprit Bumrah who has 77.
This milestone not only makes Pat Cummins the leading wicket-taker of the current WTC cycle but also earns him the distinction of being the fast bowler with the most wickets in a single WTC cycle.
Pat Cummins began his spell in this match by dismissing Wiaan Mulder for 6 on Wednesday. On Thursday, he returned with renewed energy, striking early to remove the South African skipper Temba Bavuma for 36 runs in the morning session. He then claimed two more key wickets — Kyle Verreynne who was trapped lbw for 13 and Marco Jansen who was caught off Pat Cummins’ own bowling without scoring.
To complete his five-wicket haul, Pat Cummins dismissed David Bedingham, who made 45 runs before being caught by Alex Carey. This five-for was Pat Cummins’ sixth in the ongoing WTC cycle, pushing him ahead of Pakistan’s Noman Ali and India’s Jasprit Bumrah and R. Ashwin who each have five.
Pat Cummins ended South Africa’s first innings with remarkable figures of 6 for 28 in 18.1 overs. His dominant performance helped Australia bowl South Africa out for just 138 in 57.1 overs, giving them a crucial first-innings lead of 74 runs.
The 32 years old player has now become the first cricketer to take a six-wicket haul in an ICC final. He also holds the record for the most wickets in both WTC Finals and ICC Finals. Across two WTC Finals, Pat Cummins has claimed 10 wickets — two more than Mohammed Shami’s tally of eight. Overall, in four ICC finals, Pat Cummins has 12 wickets, ahead of his teammate Mitchell Starc, who has 11 from five finals.
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