Australia’s progress under Tim Paine has been marked since suffering a heavy defeat the last time they faced India at the MCG
When considering the week ahead at the MCG, it is difficult to do so without reflecting on what happened to Tim Paine’s team at the same ground against their same Indian adversaries two years ago. The heavy defeat they suffered then, after conceding a 242-run deficit earlier in the encounter, was the punctuation point to end a brutal year – Australia’s annus horribilis.
The surge made by the home side to the top of the traditional form of the game since – at least as far as two sets of ICC rankings are concerned – is neatly charted against the stocks of the captain. Back then, I described the Tasmanian’s mission as quixotic: the honourable stand-in doing his best as the side stumbled from one misadventure to the next. But now, any such sentiment is long since shelved in the glow of the extraordinary triumph in Adelaide.
Written by Adam Collins in Melbourne
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/dec/24/australia-head-into-boxing-day-test-a-different-proposition-to-two-years-ago under the title “Australia head into Boxing Day Test a different proposition to two years ago | Adam Collins”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
