IND vs AUS 2022-23, 4th Test: Australians don black armbands to pay tribute to Pat Cummins' deceased mother

IND vs AUS 2022-23: Australia is up against India in the final Ahmedabad Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series. On Friday, the visitors wore black armbands to pay homage to skipper Pat Cummins' mother, who passed away.

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Australian players on Friday sported black armbands on the Day 1 of the fourth and final Test versus India for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, paying homage to pacer-cum-skipper Pat Cummins' mother, Maria, who passed away in Sydney. Maria, diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005, had been battling the severe illness in the last few weeks after it regressed. She parted at her home on Thursday night.

The Australians received the gloomy news from head coach Andrew McDonald before Day 2's play began. "We are deeply saddened at the passing of Maria Cummins overnight. On behalf of Australian Cricket, we extend our heartfelt condolences to Pat, the Cummins family and their friends. The Australian men's team will wear black armbands today as a mark of respect," Cricket Australia (CA) stated on Friday.

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Cummins, who had captained Australia in the opening couple of Tests, had left for Sydney to support his ailing mother, who was in analgesic care last month. In his absence, Steven Smith led the side to a nine-wicket triumph during the Indore Test. Australia was 255/4 after Day 1, with Usman Khawaja (104) scoring an unbeaten hundred and Cameron Green scoring an unbeaten 49, as the pair remains unbeaten at 150 and 95, respectively, with the Kangaroos at 347/4 at the lunch break on Friday.

(With inputs from PTI)