Perhaps this Test series has been a nightmare for Australia’s Test skipper Tim Paine. After losing to India in the 2018-19 series, Tim Paine had a point to prove, he had to regain the Border – Gavaskar Trophy in this series and with the return of David Warner and Steve Smith to the Test side who were missing the last time India toured Australia, almost everyone expected Australia to dominate India throughout the series.
With the departure of India’s skipper Virat Kohli and a handful of injuries sustained to the Indian players, it was almost certain that Australia would be sealing off the series during the final Test at the Gabba. What made the Brisbane Test even more interesting was Tim Paine’s altercation with Ravichandran Ashwin during the 3rd Test at Sydney Cricket Ground where Paine sledged Ashwin on playing at the Gabba since Australia have been undefeated at the venue since 1988.
But the glory days for Tim Paine were only visible during the Adelaide Test, as India under the leadership of Ajinkya Rahane managed two wins in the next three Tests to seal the series at the Gabba. The Indian lineup with valauble contributions from Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Washington Sundar and Rishabh Pant managed to script history as they defeated the star studded Australian side to seal the series for the 2nd consecutive time in 3 years.
‘Absolutely Disappointed’ – Tim Paine
Tim Paine at the presentation ceremony said that his side was disappointed with the kind of performance they put up at the Gabba. Paine stated that they will look back at what went wrong and will look forward to the series against South Africa.
“Absolutely disappointed. We came here to win the Test and win the series, it’s been a bit of a trend that we were found wanting in the key moments and completely outplayed by a tough Indian side that fully deserves the win. I think there’s lots of things we’ll look back at, but what’s done is done. We need to look forward now, there’s a big series in South Africa coming up, we’ve been outplayed by the better side in this series. I think we got about what we wanted in the end.”
The Australian captain further added how they wanted to set a target over 300 for India but with the rain coming in to play, they ended up bowling 20 overs less to the Indians. In the end, he credited the Indian players for putting up a show at Brisbane.
“We wanted to set a bit over 300, dangle a carrot to win the Test match and win the series. We might have had another 20 overs had it not rained. But India turned up and put their bodies on the line. [Reviews] are part of the job. sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t. But all credit to India, our bowlers threw everything at them.”
Also Read: Ajinkya Rahane Reacts After India Creates History Again And Wins The Series In Australia
