India may lose regular captain Virat Kohli (on paternity leave) and front-line leader Mohammed Shami (off with a broken wrist), but Australia captain Tim Paine who still has some dangerous players KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant who can play positively and take the game. of the opposition.
Paine’s comments came on the eve of the Boxing Day test against India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground starting Saturday.
Australia heads into Test 2 in Melbourne full of confidence after hitting the visitors by eight wickets in three days last week, dragging them down an embarrassing 36 in the second inning.
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But Paine said it would be a mistake to underestimate India, which is scheduled to make multiple changes for the second test. Paine said Australia had studied everyone on the Indian team and that they were ready for anyone to take the field.
The Australian skipper praised KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant, who have a good chance of contesting Round 2.
“We know that some of the players they are talking about to come into their side, like a KL Rahul or a Rishabh Pant, are dangerous players who like to move on and will play positively,” he said.
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Paine said that if Australia gives the Pant and Rahul players an inch, then they can walk away with a mile. “If we give players like that an inch, they’ll take a mile, so we have to be on the mark tomorrow like we were in Adelaide and be prepared to show up for another five-day battle,” he said.
When asked about the mental state of the Indian side before the Boxing Day Test, Paine said that the visitors are a proud cricket country and they will seek to fight back with force.
“We can’t pay attention to mental scares or whatever someone is talking about,” Paine said of India, who were attacked at home for their capitulation of Adelaide.
“I mean, India is a proud cricket country, they are an extremely talented test match team with a lot of dangerous players.”
Both teams have been living in biosecurity bubbles to ensure the series moves forward in the new world of coronavirus and Paine admitted it was easier to do so when he was winning.
This was another incentive for his team to once again subject India to the sword at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, where up to 30,000 fans will be allowed each day, around a third of capacity.
“We’ve been on overseas tours before when we’ve been eliminated for 50 and it can be really difficult, that’s why it’s so important for us to show up tomorrow with the attitude that we appeared in the first test with,” he said. .
“We know they are not going to capsize, we are going to have to work hard to put them in a position like we did in Adelaide.
“If we can do it again, tests three and four can become a real battle for them.”
(With AFP tickets)
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