It was a determined and crucial knock against a world-class attack by the mild-mannered 32-year-old, who assumed the captaincy from Virat Kohli after he returned home for the birth of his first child.
But Cummins finally got the wicket he deserved when Gill, who added 17 to his overnight score after being preferred as opener to the axed Prithvi Shaw, got a nick and Paine took a simple catch.
It proved slow going as he and Mayank Agarwal rode their luck, with Pujara surviving again when a thick edge off Starc flew past Nathan Lyon's outstretched arm.