Tim Paine: The unsung hero of Australia's coup

It's an excruciatingly bitter pill to swallow but the dust will somehow settle upon the nightmarish collapse that will remain drilled into Indian cricket's wall of shame. Journalists had to dig deep into their trove of superlatives to do justice to the carnage unleashed by Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins on a strip that wasn't drastically bowler-friendly. These two fulcrums in the match's context swept the headlines, stealing the thunder of Tim Paine's unbeaten 73 which ensured the game didn't slip too far away from Australia's grasp in the first place. 

Rustled up on defiance and flair in equal proportions, Paine's half-century in the wee hours of day 2 was a quintessential captain's knock. Not only did it stem the rot for Australia after Ravichandran Ashwin had penetrated through the middle-order, but also cropped the deficit down to 53. When Umesh Yadav put the kibosh on Marnus Labuschagne's charmed life, things seemed doomed for Australia, leaving the skipper only with the tail in tow. And the rip-roaring square cut off Ashwin that flung him off the mark was a harbinger good enough to let the opposition know he was ready to take the bull by the horns. 

While his nimble movements against India's tweaker spoke of a clear mind, Paine's tackling of the pace battery was a notch above the rest too. He has always been the proprietor of a watertight technique erected on the pillars of sharp balance and footwork. Watching the fluent right-hander go along the motions is a treat to the eyes. However, his career graph doesn't bode well with the aesthetics in his arsenal. Notwithstanding the injury saga and the tender batting scenarios at his disposal more often than not, a tally of 1404 runs in 51 Test innings means the cake is yet to be worth the candle. Much to his credit though, Paine is taking nothing for granted and striving hard to make the most in the second wind that the cricketing gods have blessed him with. 

Prior to dipping his toes into the red-ball contest against India, Paine savoured an extended opportunity to polish his prowess back home with Tasmania. Amongst the hundred of Australia's top-ranked personnel to have plied their trade during the opening throes of the 2020-21 Marsh Sheffield Shield season, none could have hit as many balls - both in the nets and in the middle - as had pinged from Paine's willow after two rounds. South African stalwart and now Adelaide resident Johan Botha rendered his off-break services to Paine in the nets while batting coach Wade Townsend dealt him throw-downs with taped-up tennis balls at the team hotel. Besides fostering a muscle memory by smashing a wagonload of deliveries, he'd also introduced some tweaks to his core setup in terms of trigger alignment and forward press. 

The exacting regimen of troubleshooting bore fruit with a red-inked 110 versus South Australia, astonishingly just his third ton in a decade-long first-class span. "I'm planning on having a big Test summer. No matter your age, it's important you're still trying to get better. That's something I'm still trying to do. I've played a lot of Test cricket and first-class cricket where I've made thirties and forties, so to bat all the way and make a hundred was pleasing'', Paine had reflected on the elusive three-figures then. "I've still got some work to do, but it was nice to get a big score."

The fact that Paine has translated his lustrous vein of form to the big stage so early in the summer is a testament to his feverish work ethic and not to forget, a street-smart modus operandi. Be it his rib-tickling chatter from behind the stumps or wisecracks to inquisitive reporters, Paine is a man of wit and wisdom. Quite naturally, it seeps into his mercurial thought process and subsequently, conduct at the crease. Although the blueprint for him in the final session of day two was to farm the strike and park Australia to close without any further bumps on the road, the exuberant manner in which he went about doing the job came across like a breath of fresh air. He pounced upon the very glimpse of room and slashed with full conviction to send the ball soaring over the slip cordon for boundaries galore. Runs came thick and fast under the luminescence of floodlights as Paine single-handedly lifted Australia to 191 to deny the guests what seemed an impregnable advantage for the time being. 

Paine's eighth international fifty kicked his average up to 33.4 which paved the way for another feather in the cap. He is now next only to the legacy of Adam Gilchrist on the list for best batting averages for Australian keepers to have featured in more than 20 Tests. He has just turned 36 this December and if his body permits, there's still a fair bit of cricket left in him. If he keeps his nose to the grindstone, Paine can definitely rewrite a chapter in the legion of late bloomers.

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