Know what it’s like to be beaten by an Indian B team, love watching England lose: Tim Paine

Despite a strong start with the bat on Day 1 of the fifth Test against India in Dharamshala, England’s middle order collapsed like a house of cards as the visitors went from 175/3 to 218 all out.

They failed to show character as Kuldeep Yadav and Ravichandran Ashwin weaved their magic in the middle to pick up a five-for and four-fer respectively. Following which, former Australia captain Tim Paine took a dig at the Ben Stokes-led side and stated that he loves watching England lose and added that he knows what it’s like to be beaten by ‘India’s B team’.

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During the conversation, it was pointed out that the Rohit Sharma-led side didn’t have Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant and Mohammed Shami in the five-match series and on top of that, KL Rahul played only one Test while Jasprit Bumrah missed the fourth Test in Ranchi. Keeping that in mind, Paine called it to be ‘India’s B team’ but eventually appreciated England for their fearless approach. He mentioned that it’s entertaining and exciting and that’s what he loves about Bazball.

“I know what it’s like to be beaten by an Indian B team. Unfortunately, it happened to us on our home soil. But yes, some huge names out for India, which should have certainly helped the English. I thoroughly enjoy watching England play the game, I love the way they are going about it. I love watching them lose. Don’t get me wrong but they are entertaining and exciting. They have been for Test cricket,” Paine told Around the Wicket.

The depth in Indian cricket is huge: Brad Haddin

Haddin too pointed out the significant absentees in the Indian team. However, he opened up on the depth of Indian cricket and stated that Yashasvi Jaiswal is leading the charge in their absence and lauded youngster Dhruv Jurel for his incredible show in the Ranchi Test.

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“They are not their strongest team but it just goes to show that the depth in Indian cricket is huge because there are some big names coming into this next era of Indian cricket. Jaiswal is leading the charge; young Jurel was magnificent in the last Test as well. So India are looking very strong,” Haddin said.