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Australian Test captain Tim Paine has claimed his team got distracted by India’s 'sideshows' during the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The 36-year-old pointed out the Gabba controversy when India, initially, expressed reluctance to play at the venue, citing hard quarantine rules.
Australia ended up losing the Test series 1-2 as India registered a famous win with a bunch of newcomers, led admirably by Ajinkya Rahane.
Reflecting on the series against India, Tim Paine was quoted as saying in a Fox Cricket report:
“Part of the challenge of playing against India is they’re very good at niggling you and trying to distract you with stuff that doesn’t really matter and there were times in that series where we fell for that. The classic example was when they said they weren’t going to the Gabba so we didn’t know where we were going. They’re very good at creating these sideshows and we took our eye off the ball.”
Australia began the four-match Test against India on a high, thumping the visitors in the Adelaide Test as the Asian giants were cleaned up for 36 in their second innings. However, India fought back incredibly well to register their second successive Test series win in Australia.
"Mum says it looked like I’d seen a ghost" - Tim Paine on being named Australian Test captain
In the aftermath of the disaster against India, the pressure has been growing on Tim Paine to step down as Australia's Test captain. His appointment to the role came under unexpected circumstances, following Steve Smith’s involvement in the ball-tampering scandal in the 2018 Cape Town Test.
Reflecting on how he was given the unenviable task, Tim Paine recalled:
“I was pretty much told there’d been a board meeting back in Australia and I was the 46th Test captain of Australia.”
The wicket-keeper-batsman then revealed his immediate reaction to being named the Australian Test skipper.
“Mum says it looked like I’d seen a ghost. I was looking out the window (of the hotel room) and spun around and she said ‘what’s up with you?’ I said ‘I’ve just been made the Test captain of Australia. And she said ‘yeah, but it’s only for this week isn’t it?’” Paine added.
Tim Paine admitted he felt completely lost at how things had turned around in Australian cricket, forcing him into the limelight out of nowhere.
“I didn’t know what to do. I’d captained Tasmania when I was quite young … and looking back I was a horrible captain. I was punchy, aggressive … everything was everyone else’s fault, it wasn’t my fault,” Paine said.
Tim Paine has led Australia in 23 Tests so far, winning 11 and losing eight.
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