Batters have signature shots. That’s a given. Certain shapes or sequences of shapes that you associate with that player for ever. The Ricky Ponting pull, the Brian Lara follow-through over the shoulder, fill your own list. It is much rarer for bowlers to have signature dismissals. There are so many ways to get players out, so many variations. A Nathan Lyon off-break may have a shape you can trace in your sleep, but what happens after reaching the bat has its unique character.
Pat Cummins has the Pat Cummins Ball. The Pat Cummins Dismissal. The one that KL Rahul received on the second day of the fourth Australia-India Test in Melbourne. Somehow, even on a pitch that is not dangerous or during an innings that is flowing the other team’s way, there are times when Cummins can make that delivery appear. It doesn’t bring every wicket that he takes, of course – it is still precious. But it has happened often enough that you know it on sight: part of a rare collection rather than a gem on its own.
