'Best I've bowled' says record-breaking Cummins

Pat Cummins declared he is bowling as well as ever after becoming the first Australian in three decades to take a Boxing Day Test 10-wicket haul, while also passing 250 Test wickets.

Awarded the Jonny Mullagh Medal as the leading player in the MCG Test, Cummins (5-48 in the first innings, 5-49 in the second) spearheaded the 79-run victory over Pakistan, achieved with minutes to spare on the game's penultimate day.

The 30-year-old was irresistible in the visitors' first dig, snaring 5-48 to ensure the Aussies held a 54-run first-innings advantage, before helping his side tear through the visitors late on day four in their collapse of 5-18.

South Africa's Dale Steyn took 10-154 in Melbourne in 2008 but no Aussie has taken a 10-for at the iconic venue since Bruce Reid did it in back-to-back Boxing Day Tests in 1990 and 1991.

"Really happy for a few reasons," said Cummins, who finished with match figures of 10-97. "The main reason is that's the best I've felt like I bowled for a little while.

"The rhythm felt really good, I felt like I had good pace, I knew where my wrist was and I could control the seam, good bouncers. I felt really happy with how I was bowling even if I wasn't taking wickets."

Among Australian pacemen, only Dennis Lillee and Glenn McGrath (55) have gotten to the 250-wicket mark in fewer Tests than Cummins' 57 (Mitchell Johnson also got there in 57).

He is the 10th bowler from his country to reach the mark, joining teammates Mitchell Starc (342 Test wickets) and Nathan Lyon (505) on the list.

"It came up on the screen (that I) was maybe 10th on the list. I didn't know I was so close," said Cummins.

"It's pretty special company being up there. Nath and Mitch welcomed me into their club so I look forward to those catch-ups. But a real proud moment to see the names you're up there alongside.

"Achievements in Test cricket, the things that are most satisfying, is the longevity it takes to hit a few of those milestones, especially after missing a few years when I was a bit younger. It’s always a nice little reminder."

It clinched a fourth consecutive home series win under Cummins' leadership, having now won 10 Tests out of 12 since taking over before the 2021-22 Ashes series. The other two finished in draws.

"I just think his length is so good. He’s challenging the batters' outside edge, he's challenging their inside edge," wicketkeeper Alex Carey told cricket.com.au.

"He uses his bouncer really well. He charges in, he's hitting 140 (kph) most deliveries and he digs in for big spells. It's pretty good leadership from our captain."

Mitchell Starc finished with four second-innings wickets as their short-ball plan to Pakistan's tail proved effective, but it was Josh Hazlewood's spell after tea that Cummins singled out.

Hazlewood sent down 24 consecutive dot balls to put the brakes on Pakistan, a sequence that included the prized wicket of star batter Babar Azam, who shaped as the most likely man to pull off a record fourth-innings run chase.

No bowler has dismissed Babar more times in Test cricket than Hazlewood, who has gotten him seven times in eight Tests.

"That was huge," Cummins said of Hazlewood's post-tea spell.

"For a lot of the game, he was stuck down the bottom end into the wind. But he just took that moment, took it upon himself … just went up another gear and he showed his class.

"I think he's got Babar's wicket a fair few times, but that one's right up top of the list I reckon."

Babar was bowled by balls that nipped back through his defences in both innings, enough for Ricky Ponting to suggest on Channel Seven that the right-hander has a technical flaw.

Cummins went through him with a peach on his seventh ball in the first innings, before Hazlewood bowled him after he had batted for nearly two hours.

"They have been working away at that forever since the moment that he came to the crease it has been about trying to deliver that exact ball," said Ponting.

"Try and trap him on the crease, not commit far enough on the line on the front foot and provide a little gap.

"There is a gap there. It’s lazy again. I said it at the first innings and I'll say it again, off-stump is visible between bat and pad."

Babar, Test cricket's fifth-ranked batter, has been a major disappointment for the visitors so far with his 41 on Friday marking his top score in four hits.

The right-hander has previously shown he can make big runs down under, scoring 104 and 97 at the Gabba and Adelaide Oval respectively on Pakistan's last tour here.

But his batting average of 25.35 from 14 innings makes Australia comfortably his bogey country. He does not have an average under 36 in any other nation where he has batted more than twice. 

"In this innings he was really confident, his body was responding very well, he was getting into a strong position," said Pakistan team director Mohammad Hafeez.

"So very happy to see he addressed some small things from earlier. But the team felt … he's there for a big innings in Tests and that's coming very soon."

NRMA Insurance Test series v Pakistan

First Test: Australia won by 360 runs

Second Test: Australia won by 79 runs

Third Test: January 3-7, SCG (10.30am AEDT)

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Steve Smith, Mitch Starc, David Warner

Pakistan squad: Shan Masood (c), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi