Sydney: Australian skipper Tim Paine Friday insisted there was no difference of opinion between him and his bowlers on the opening day of the fourth Test, contrary to the claims of bowling coach David Saker.
Paine said that they did get some plans wrong, but there was nothing as worrying as a disagreement. “We always have discussion post game but in terms of being on a different page, no. I think we are pretty clear on what we’re trying to do. Yesterday (Thursday) afternoon, and to be fair probably the first hour in the morning then the first hour after lunch we got it slightly wrong,” said Paine.
“It can sometimes look like that but we know what we’re trying to do. Sometimes you don’t quite execute and teams can get away from you and that’s what happened,” he said.
Cheteshwar Pujara’s masterful innings completely wore down Australia’s bowling attack and set the template for Rishabh Pant to score his hundred as well.
“Credit goes to India who made us bowl 170 overs in Melbourne and 160-odd again today. Pujara was again superb and he wore us down. With Pujara if you’re not swinging the ball he’s extremely hard to get out. That set the scene for Pant to show his skill,” Paine signed off.
A funny side
Sydney: Australia had another long day in the field but their captain Tim Paine kept the lighted hearted humour going by answering a phone call, not his but a reporter’s, in the middle of a press conference. A reporter’s phone, kept on desk in front of Paine, rang in the middle of the media interaction and the skipper pounced on it. “Tim Paine speaking. Who is it, sorry? It’s Katie in Hong Kong. Who are you after?” he said, leaving the media persons in splits. “Ah Martin, he’s in the middle of a press conference at the moment. Can I get him to call you back? No worries, I’ll tell him to check his emails. Thanks Katie, cheers,” he added.