‘A huge missed opportunity’ – Tim Paine

Chasing 323 for a win in the first Test, a rearguard performance against a tiring Indian bowling attack raised hope of a remarkable comeback, but it was not to be. Paine, who was one of the six wickets to fall on Monday, 10 December, hailed the attitude of the lower order, but rued the lost chances.

“We were a hard team to beat, we made India work really hard … and that was pleasing,” he told presspersons. “But it’s also a huge missed opportunity, because we didn’t cash in in the first innings and we didn’t have batters out there today when they were tiring.

“If we had either of those, we would have won this Test match and that’s pretty hard to take.”

A goal for his batsmen was to get set and see games through, but that didn’t happen in this Test, Paine admitted. He pointed to the efforts of the lower order – the bowlers – who showed what could be accomplished on the pitch with some application and patience.

"Our whole bowling attack, you see those four together, you can see how much playing for Australia means to them. Whether they've got the bat, ball or in the field, you can't question those four guys’ commitment," the skipper said.

"They have a red-hot crack for every single ball. That's what we're building to, that's the style of cricket we want to play. They're obviously some of our more experienced players and I think the more they do that the more it will rub off on the rest of the group."

This is the second time in recent months that Paine's young Australian squad have showed fighting spirit, having hung in for a remarkable draw against Pakistan in the UAE recently.

“We took some belief from what happened in Dubai. That showed our group that it is possible if you’re prepared to stick it out and face a lot of balls, it could change quite quickly,” he said, adding that Adelaide only added to this feeling.

“We go [to Perth, for the second Test] with real belief … It’s going to be a real tight Test series and we take a little bit from today.”