Stunned Aussies left in pieces
TIM Paine will refuse to give up the Test captaincy after Australia’s 33-year dominance at the Gabba was shattered by India’s miraculous series victory on Tuesday.
India conjured one of the greatest wins in history, setting a 90-year record in Brisbane to retain the BorderGavaskar Trophy with a 2-1 series triumph.
The three-wicket win with three overs remaining on the final day was orchestrated by inspiring innings from rookie Shubman Gill (91), unbreakable Cheteshwar Pujara (56) and the explosive Rishabh Pant (89 not out).
The stunning result delivered a hammer blow to Australia’s hopes of winning the World Test Championship and thrust the spotlight on Paine’s captaincy, Australia’s unreliable batting and the failure of the world’s best bowling attack.
At 36, Paine’s days as captain are numbered and the shock series defeat against an injury-ravaged India will put the blowtorch on Australia ahead of next month’s tour of South Africa and the end-ofyear Ashes.
Paine’s wicketkeeping and captaincy throughout the series has been savaged and he was left with egg on his face after calling India spinner Ravi Ashwin a “d***head” in Sydney and saying “can’t wait to get you to the Gabba”.
“No, I came here to try to win a Test match and am looking forward to going to South Africa,” Paine said when asked if his captaincy days were numbered.
“We had a goal to make the Test Championship final and that’s still achievable. It’s a big focus for me and this group.
“I don’t look past the next series. I’m 36 and loving doing my job. It’s a difficult job and at times like this it can be bloody hard when you’re copping it left, right and centre.
“I didn’t play my best cricket but that can happen. I’ll go away and look to improve certain parts of my game for the next series. I won’t be looking past that. I’m loving it. I’m going to cop heaps of flak. I’ve been belted by the Indians for seven days, that’s par for the course of this job.
“There’s people who get paid to critique the game and my job as a captain. I don’t think I’ve done a brilliant job every day, I’m honest with myself and try to get better
“I am enjoying it. This has been different the past two weeks with lots of criticism coming my way which hasn’t been the case. You have to have very thick skin.”
Paine’s side became the first Australian team to lose a Test at the Gabba since Allan Border’s class of 1988 fell to one of the great West Indies outfits featuring legends Viv
Richards, Curtly Ambrose, Malcolm Marshall and Courtney Walsh.
India’s third-string bowling attack for this match had a combined total of four Tests and 13 wickets between them. They were given no hope but took all 20 Australian wickets.
The visitors faced so many hurdles this tour that Pujara and stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane were the only players to feature in every match.
India was rolled for a humiliating 36 in Adelaide before star skipper Virat Kohli returned home for the birth of his first child. Remarkably, India didn’t lose another Test.
It claimed a dominant eight-wicket win in Melbourne and fought hard for a draw in Sydney before producing what will go down as one of the country’s great Test wins in Brisbane.
And to think there was speculation of India boycotting the Test due to COVID rules.
India chased down Australia’s target of 328 with three overs left in the match, Pant hitting the winning runs in a fine knock of 89 from 138 balls. India’s fourth innings 3-329 set a record for successful run chases in 90 years of Gabba Tests, eclipsing Australia’s 7-236 in 1951.
Player of the series Pat Cummins was the only Australian bowler to fire, his 4-55 helping him clinch 21 wickets for the series.
In his 100th Test, off-spinner Nathan Lyon (2-85) was left stranded on 399 wickets while Josh Hazlewood (1-74) couldn’t repeat his first innings five-wicket haul. Mitchell Starc (0-75) had a match to forget.
“The last two Tests we’ve copped it for being awful but we walked into both those Test matches on day five in a good position,” Paine said.
“It’s a bit of a trend for the whole series, in the key moments whether it was bat, ball or in the field we were found wanting and completely outplayed by a really disciplined, tough Indian side that fully deserved the series win.”
“We’ve got another opportunity next month and international cricket is a bloody tough sport.
“You’re going to have plenty of armchair critics but they’re not the guys out there doing it. We’re giving our all for this country every time.”
Pant once again proved to be Australia’s kryptonite.
The chirpy wicketkeeperbatsman scored a crucial 97 to save the Sydney Test and his daring batting in Brisbane guided India home at a buzzing Gabba which was flooded by Indian fans late in the day.
“It clearly means a lot to us,” Rahane said.
“I’m really proud of all the boys. After the Adelaide Test match we decided we’re going to fight very hard.”