"Completely outplayed by a really tough Indian side" - Tim Paine
Australian captain Tim Paine was gutted over the home side's crushing defeat to India at Australia's fortress, the Gabba. He commended the discipline and resilience of the Indian team, which "completely outplayed" his side.
Soldering through incessant bruises, doubts, and even abuses, India retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2-1. 2 youngsters, Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant batted around one veteran, Cheteshwar Pujara, to pull-off a historical breach of the Gabba, Australia's 32-year-old fortress.
Talking in the post-match presentation, with boos from the crowd in the background, Tim Paine talked about moving on and looking forward to the tour of South Africa.
"Absolutely disappointed, no doubt about that. We came here to win the Test and win the series. Probably a bit of a trend in the whole series, to be honest. I think in the key moments with the bat, ball and in the field, we were completely outplayed by a really disciplined and tough Indian side, who fully deserve the series win", said Tim Paine.
The 36-year-old further added:
"There are a lot of things we can look back over the whole series and we will do that, there's no doubt about it. What's done is done, we will go through it but we have got to look forward now. We have a big series coming up in South Africa. We were outplayed by a better side in this series, and there were some errors and we need to improve on that."
Wanted to dangle the carrot: Tim Paine
Some experts had questioned Australia's decision to go all-out in the third innings instead of declaring despite rain forecasts for Day 4 and 5. Tim Paine explained the decision saying they wanted to lure India to go for the win. He also lauded his bowlers for their unflinching efforts.
"We wanted to set a bit over 300 and dangle the carrot for them to win the Test and the series. I thought India turned up today, wore balls on the head arm and chest, put their body in the line, they just kept soldering on, so credit to them. Keeping is a part of my job, and I have to get them right. Our bowlers did really well as well, it's just credit to the Indian side for this terrific series," said Tim Paine.
Despite Australia's best efforts, India reached the target with 3 overs to spare. As parties will start in the Indian dressing room, Tim Paine and the Australian team are left with a lot to ponder before the South Africa tour kicks off in March.