Paine concedes Aussies let Lyon down in milestone Test

Tim Paine has accepted some of the blame for a summer that began full of promise for off-spinner Nathan Lyon and ended as one of his most frustrating.

Lyon was stranded on 399 Test wickets after 100 Tests on Tuesday, the tweaker not only unable to bowl Australia to victory against India at the Gabba but watching on as the hosts suffered their first loss at the venue since 1988.

A late wicket saw him finish with 2-85 as India managed a ground-record 7-329, behind cavalier Rishabh Pant's unbeaten 89.

Pant in particular proved a thorn in Lyon's side, carving him to all parts of the SCG and the Gabba in successive Tests as India first saved the series in Sydney before winning it on the final day in Brisbane. 

The off-spinner ended the Vodafone series with nine wickets at an average of 55.11 and strike rate of 124.6 - the worst rate for any home series in his career. 

Shane Warne led the criticism of Lyon's "negative" field settings on Tuesday, disappointed the 33-year-old hadn't employed a short mid-off or tempted the batsmen to be more attacking when the run chase appeared forlorn.

But it's a method that's proved the test of time and Paine acknowledged Lyon's tough luck – he had five catches dropped and a stumping missed across the series – when delivering his assessment.

"They (India) grow up playing spin don't they; that's what Indian teams are famous for ... (but he) created plenty of chances, a close lbw shout early (on Tuesday) that goes his way and could've got on a roll," captain Paine said.

"He bowled his heart out and at times we let him down in the field and at times balls didn't quite go to hand.

"He's been an absolute champ of Australian cricket, bowling well, creating chances and he's someone who will bounce back well in (the next Test series in) South Africa."

Australia are due to leave for a three-Test series in South Africa next month, but Paine admitted they were yet to land on a departure date as COVID-19 continues to cloud the 2021 calendar.

Vodafone Test Series v India 2020-21

Australia Test squad: Tim Paine (c), Sean Abbott, Pat Cummins, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Will Pucovski, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade, David Warner

India Test squad: Ajinkya Rahane (captain), Rohit Sharma (vice-captain), Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Jasprit Bumrah, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, T Natarajan

First Test: Australia won by eight wickets

Second Test: India won by eight wickets

Third Test: Match drawn

Fourth Test: India won by three wickets