Tim Paine says the 2018/19 Test series loss against India still annoys him to date

Australian Test skipper Tim Paine has gone on to say that he is still annoyed with their Test series loss against India at home during the 2018/19 season. The Aussies were playing that series in the absence of star players Steve Smith and David Warner who were banned for 12 months due to their involvement in the infamous ball-tampering scandal earlier that year.

Smith was also sacked from captaincy Aaron Finch was named Australia's captain in white-ball cricket while Paine has been leading them in the longest format of the game. 

'It still annoys me': Tim Paine

“Certainly for me sitting back it still annoys me that we lost that Test series. Whether we had Steve or David or not you don’t want to be losing any Test matches or Test series you’re involved in, so that still grinds me a little bit,” said Tim Paine while speaking to  2GB’s WWOS radio, as quoted by Fox Cricket.

India tour of Australia 2018/19

India were made to toil hard in the opening Test match at the Adelaide Oval as they snatched victory from the jaws of defeat by 31 runs. However, the hosts settled the scores in the following Test at Perth by registering an emphatic 146-run win to level the four-match series. However, it was Virat Kohli and India who had the last laugh as they comprehensively won the 'Boxing Day' Test match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground by 137 runs while the final Test match in Sydney ended in a stalemate.

India bagged the series 2-1 to win their first-ever Test series Down Under.

READ: Australian Swashbuckling Opener David Warner Puts Country Ahead Of Big Bash League

Tim Paine & Aussies seek vengeance

Tim Paine will get a second chance at redemption come December when the top-two sides in red-ball cricket lock horns in a four-match Test series. The first Test will be played under lights and it will be hosted at the Adelaide Oval.

It remains to be seen whether the Virat Kohli-led side will succeed in retaining the iconic Border-Gavaskar Trophy by getting the better of a full-strength Australian side that features the likes of Steve Smith, David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne, etc. 

However, Team India will have to rewrite history as Australia have never lost a pink-ball Test match. In fact, they have won all five of the D/N Tests that they have played so far from November 2015 and all those wins have come in their own backyard. 

READ: Former Aus Coach Warns Ajinkya Rahane Not To Emulate Virat Kohli In The Test Series