australia captain Pat Cummins rules himself out of fourth Test in india

austraLia captain Pat Cummins will remain in Sydney to support his seriously ill mother, ruling himself out of the fourth and final Test against India in Ahmedabad.

Cummins returned home after Australia's second-Test defeat in Delhi to be close to his family, with his mother Maria having been placed into palliative care.

Steve Smith stepped in as skipper for the third time since Cummins became Test captain in November 2021 for Australia's famous ninewicket win in Indore last week.

The team checked in with Cummins after the memorable victory at Holkar Stadium on Friday, as Australia celebrated just its second Test win on Indian soil in 19 years.

India has already retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after winning the Delhi Test.

Meanwhile, Todd Murphy received a special mention from Smith after the win in Indore, despite fellow spinners Nathan Lyon and Matt Kuhnemann taking all the wickets.

Lyon put in a legendary performance to take 1199 for the match in Indore, while Kuhnemann grabbed his first five-wicket haul in just his second Test.

Murphy, who had a slight side injury after the second Test loss in Delhi, finished across India's two innings with figures of 1-41.

While Murphy's figures were unremarkable, it was the 22-year-old's ability to keep bowling tight when wickets were not coming that was impressive. Australia assistant coach