Pat Cummins' confession about Jasprit Bumrah as Aussie captain fires back at Sam Konstas claim

Pat Cummins admits Jasprit Bumrah's absence on day three at the SCG helped the Aussies wrap up a six-wicket win in the fifth Test to reclaim the Border-Gavaskar trophy. And the Aussie skipper defended Sam Konstas after the young gun was criticised for his fiery run-in with Bumrah on day one in Sydney, which sparked concerns from Australia coach Andrew McDonald that the Indian players were trying to intimidate the Test rookie.

India coach Gautam Gambhir said it was "soft" to suggest his team tried to intimidate Konstas, who was also shoulder-charged by Virat Kohli in the Boxing Day Test at the MCG. Gambhir insisted Konstas had "no right" to take a shot at Bumrah late on day one at the SCG when the Indian bowler and his teammates complained about the 19-year-old's opening partner Usman Khawaja wasting time so the tourists couldn't bowl another over.

The tactic backfired when Khawaja was dismissed on the last ball of the day and India's players rounded on Konstas to aggressively celebrate the wicket. McDonald said he checked on Konstas' welfare in the aftermath of the incident after suggesting India had overstepped the mark, but Gambhir scoffed at suggestions his side used intimidatory tactics on the Aussie teenager.

"It's a tough sport played by tough men. You can't be that soft. As simple as it can get," the India coach said after his side's 3-1 series defeat. "I don't think there was anything intimidating about it. He had no right to be talking to Jasprit Bumrah when Usman Khawaja was taking time. He had no right. He had no business to be involved with Jasprit Bumrah, that was a job for the umpire."

Pat Cummins responds to backlash against Sam Konstas

Ricky Ponting was among those to criticise Konstas for getting involved with Bumrah, with fellow Aussie legends Allan Border and Mark Waugh expressing similar concerns. However, Cummins said he was "really impressed" by the way Konstas handled himself and praised the youngster for sticking to his guns and showing the confidence that was at the forefront of his memorable debut in Test cricket.

"I think people mistake a bit of confidence for bullying or abuse," Cummins said. "You're allowed to walk around with your shoulders puffed back and play a few cricket shots. I don't think that's illegal, but some people really take offence to that and want to put him pack in his place.

"We say the same to all our players, just bring yourself every day, be yourself, go about it how you think represents yourself the best and how you want to play. I think he's been really good this series. He's stood up for himself when he needed to." Konstas announced himself to the cricket world after making a mockery of Bumrah's brilliance at the MCG with a half century on Test debut highlighted by an array of eye-catching ramp shots.

But the 19-year-old could not consolidate his aggressive approach with big scores in the three innings that followed and undid a promising start on day three at the SCG when inexplicably slogged one straight to Washington Sundar to be out for 22. Fortunately, it didn't prove costly as Beau Webster (30 not out) and Travis Head (34 not out) forged an unbroken series-clinching 58-run partnership to reclaim the Border-Gavaskar trophy for Australia.

Pat Cummins admits Jasprit Bumrah's absence was telling

Cummins admits things could have been different if Bumrah was fit to bowl on Sunday though, with a back injury forcing the stand-in captain to watch from the pavilion as the Aussies chased down the 162-run victory target. Bumrah was named player of the series after taking 32 wickets at 13.06 in one of the most dominant showings ever seen from a visiting quick to Australia.

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But with such a modest total to defend on day three, India sorely missed their inspirational fast bowler, who left the field with the game in the balance on day two and went for scans behind an ambulance escort. And Cummins concedes the absence of Bumrah made Australia's chase that little bit less difficult.

"Every time he bowled he seemed to have an impact and took some key wickets," Cummins said about his rival quick. "No doubt (his absence) helped our chase a little bit." Bumrah dismissed every one of Australia's top seven batters during the series - with the exception of Webster - and became just the second Indian after Sachin Tendulkar to win player-of-the-series honours in a losing side, such was his dominance.

with AAP