Australia captain Tim Paine has informed that they were prepared to face the newcomers like KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant in the Indian team in the Boxing Day Test at the MCG.

Paine said that Australia were well aware of the threat carried by the likes of Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul who could come into the touring team as replacements after India’s dubious defeat in the first Test in Adelaide.

“We know that some of the players coming into their side like KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant are dangerous players and will play positively. If we give those guys an inch, they will take a mile. So we have to be bang on the mark as we were in Adelaide and be prepared tomorrow for another 5-day battle. We know we won the first Test well but it was only on stumps on day two we were in a serious fight to win that Test. So that is the attitude we are taking to this Test match,” Paine told reporters on Friday, the eve of the second Test match.

He added that the hosts had done all the homework on the Indian players prior to the series.

“Before the series we went through all of their players, strengths and weaknesses and identified some areas where we can attack their batters and vice versa for their bowlers where we think we can score and who we think matches up against them. So all of that stuff has been done pre-series. We just had a quick refresher yesterday before training on that. Again our focus on this Test match has been controlling what we can control and executing our skills,” said Paine.

“We have worked on who we think might play and what their side might look like and having a few plans and ideas around some of those new players, yeah we have got a little bit of time into some players that might come into their side,” added Paine.

Australia last week registered brilliant 8-wicket win over India in the first Test of the four-match series at the Adelaide Oval after the bowlers had bundled the visitors for a meager total of 35 runs in the second innings.

Chasing the target of 90 runs, Australia reached the total in just 21 overs on Day 3 of the pink-ball Test. Opener Joe Burns remained unbeaten on 51 off 63 balls.

Starting the innings with a 53-run lead, India lost nine wickets in just 27 runs in the first session on Day 3 of the pink-ball Test. Mohammed Shami, the No. 11 batsman, retired hurt and could not bat.

Josh Hazlewood (5/8) and Pat Cummins (4/21) with their fiery spells have now given Australia a complete control over the Day-Night fixture. The hosts need to chase 90 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the four-match series.