Cummins, Lyon make amends

Mistakes by the Aussie pair had helped England steal victory in Leeds four years back. They came together on Tuesday to put on an unbeaten 54-run stand to seal a thrilling victory

- Somshuvra Laha

KOLKATA: If there was ever a day to believe in the circle of life, this was it.

Nothing seemed impossible for Ben Stokes, till he couldn't hold on to what would have been a sensational and not his first one-handed catch, of Nathan Lyon.

Four years ago at Headingley, in the greatest ever Test since 2001 Eden, Lyon ended up on the wrong side of history when he fumbled a simple run out of Jack Leach. And no one was more expensive than Pat Cummins, who, incidentally, also conceded the winning boundary to Stokes.

With those memories swirling in the back of the head, accentuated several notches by Ollie Robinson's 'three No lls jibe' at the Australian lower order, what would you call what went down at Edgbaston? Randomness of luck? Or the barest of margins playing favourites?

Athletes are trained to not look back. But they do nevertheless. "I would be lying if I said it didn't (cross my mind)," said Cummins on Tuesday when asked about that Headingley defeat.

"We were on the other side of one in the last series here. When you're on the other side it feels like one that's got away and it really hurts. A lot of those guys were there at Headingley and to clinch one that was perhaps out of our grasp for a little while there is pretty satisfying."