Tim Paine said that the second Test will be a hard-fought one. “It is going to be another hugely competitive Test and a challenge for our whole group,” the Australian captain said on the eve of the match here on Thursday.
The pitch at the Optus Stadium is supposed to stoke the fast bowler’s ego but Paine believed that his attack will not get carried away: “We have a very experienced bowling attack. They know what works and have played on all types of surfaces and adapted quickly. This wicket might play very well, we don’t know. It’s about having to work it out in the first half hour and then they can adjust to the conditions.”
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Asked about India being forced to make changes due to injury-worries, Paine said: “They have new guys coming in, but we have concentrated over the whole squad and we know their strengths and weaknesses. Whatever eleven they put on the park, they will come hard and have a sniff of something special. We will have to be right on our game from ball one.”
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Paine also mentioned about talking to the umpires over Ishant Sharma’s no-balls, some of which were allegedly not spotted by the match officials. “It’s not something that we can control. Having said that I am glad that it has been brought up,” the host skipper said.
And when asked about his remarks on the DRS after the defeat at Adelaide, Paine said that those were made in the heat of the moment and then added: “Can it (DRS) get better? Yeah. Do I have the answer? No.”
