Tim Paine instills fear in Pat Cummins' mind ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India

Former Australia Test skipper Tim Paine recently praised the Indian pace bowling attack for their impressive performance over the past few years in international cricket. Tim Paine expressed anticipation for how the Indian fast bowlers will perform in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) series in Australia later this year.

Fast bowling hasn't been India's strength in the past, but the country has been producing quality fast bowlers across all formats. Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Mohammed Siraj have played crucial roles in recent times. India is grooming a new generation of fast bowlers who can serve the team for a long time.

Before 2018, the Indian cricket team had not won a Test series in Australia. However, they secured consecutive victories, winning 2-1 in both the 2018-19 and 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophies. The Indian team became the first team this century to defeat Australia at the Gabba during the historic 2020-21 series victory.

India Have Got High Quality Of Fast Bowlers - Tim Paine

In a recent conversation, Tim Paine said that India's fast bowling strength has changed the dynamics of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The former wicketkeeper-batter stated that India's fast bowling prowess made it challenging for Australia to maintain its traditional aggressive approach.

“Now that India have got high-quality fast bowlers, the dynamic of that series, particularly in Australia, has really changed,” Paine told CrickTracker.

“We used to be able to be quite aggressive and bowl a lot of bouncers, have a fun bit of fun getting stuck up to the Indian batters. Now, the shoe is on the other foot, it is coming back at us.

“I am looking forward to the next one watching how your fast bowlers perform here in Australia and how both batting lineups handle the pace,” he added.

India Last Faced Australia In World Test Championship Final

The India team will face the Australia team in a five-match Test series, with the first match scheduled to be played at the Optus Stadium in Perth on November 22. This series is part of the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. Rohit Sharma's team will also play five Test matches before heading to Australia.

India and Australia last faced each other in red-ball cricket during the World Test Championship (WTC) final in June 2023 at the Kennington Oval. Australia, led by Pat Cummins, defeated India by 209 runs to claim the championship. Despite this loss, the India team will draw confidence from their recent series victories.

Australia's batting weaknesses were evident in their 1-1 series draw against the West Indies at the Gabba in 2024. The Pat Cummins-led team is in second place in the table for the ongoing cycle with 62.50 percentage points from 12 matches, trailing behind India, who has 68.52 percentage points from nine matches.

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