India completed an eight-wicket victory over Australia in Melbourne on Tuesday to level the four-Test series at 1-1.
No Australia batsman managed to score a half-century in the second Test as they were bowled out for 195 and 200 at the MCG.
Joe Burns and Travis Head are under the most pressure to keep their spots, but Paine does not believe changes are the answer.
"No, not necessarily," Paine told a news conference when asked if changes were needed.
"I just think you need to bat better, doesn't matter who's out there. We need to be scoring runs, that's our job as the top seven of the Australian cricket team.
"If you're not, obviously they'll look for other people. I think we've got the best people here at the moment, we just haven't been good enough to get the job done."
David Warner could return from an adductor injury in the third Test, while Will Pucovski may make his debut after his fine form in the Sheffield Shield.
Steve Smith, meanwhile, has scored just 10 runs in the opening two Tests as he tries to find form.
Paine felt Australia's batting and fielding were particularly costly in Melbourne.
"I think that was one of the factors [not enough runs], I think dropping a number of catches probably didn't help," he said.
"Just a bit of a sloppy performance I think in the field and just not enough runs again."
The third Test is due to start in Sydney on January 7, although whether that goes ahead as scheduled remains unclear amid a coronavirus outbreak in New South Wales.
Pakistan were on the wrong end of an all-time World Cup upset against the co-hosts on Thursday, and they fell short in their chase of 120 against their great rivals at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
Rain at Long Island caused a lengthy delay to the start of proceedings and the covers were back on after just one over, but the weather quickly cleared up and that was the only interruption.
India were caught cold after the pause, with Virat Kohli (4) toe-ending Naseem Shah's delivery straight to Usman Khan at cover point before Rohit Sharma (13) picked out Haris Rauf in the deep before the end of the third over.
Rishabh Pant steadied the ship somewhat with his knock of 42 off 31 balls including six fours, but Pakistan had his crucial wicket in the 15th over as he hoisted Mohammad Amir's ball up into the air and into the waiting palms of Babar Azam.
India's middle order was unable to respond as both Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah were dismissed for golden ducks, Shah and Rauf both finishing 3-21.
Needing a run-a-ball 120 for victory, Pakistan had an early reprieve as Mohammad Rizwan was dropped on seven by Shivam Dube, but he made slow progress with 31 off 44 deliveries.
Nevertheless, Pakistan were looking good at 73-2 only to slip to 88-5, Rizwan being bowled by Bumrah for the second of his three wickets between Fakhar Zaman (13) and Shadab Khan (4) going for low scores.
After Rizwan's departure, no other Pakistan player managed more than 15, Bumrah's full-toss dismissal of Iftikhar Ahmed (5) leaving them requiring 18 off the final over.
Arshdeep Singh then took up the ball, Imad Wasim (15) glancing his delivery into the palms of Pant before Shah could only manage a couple of fours when he required maximums, one mammoth strike having Kohli worried in the deep but bouncing just before the boundary.
Data Debrief: Bumrah pushes Pakistan to the brink
A full-on delivery to send stumps flying and remove steady-hitting Rizwan was the highlight of Bumrah's outing, but equally as important was the way he gave Pakistan no gifts.
He finished with figures of 3-14 as Pakistan simply failed to maintain their momentum after a decent start to their chase, bowling 15 dot balls through his full four overs.
Pakistan now need a minor miracle to make the Super-8 stage, while India's superior run rate puts them ahead of the USA at the top of Group A.
India head into the first of three T20Is at JSCA International Stadium Complex in Ranchi on Friday on the back of a 3-0 whitewash of the Black Caps in the 50-over format.
New Zealand have won just one of their past 11 completed against India in the short format, with that victory coming in the 2021 T20 World Cup in Dubai.
The tourists are yet to win a multi-game T20I bilateral series in India and they will be without the likes of Kane Williamson, Tim Southee and Tom Latham, with Mitchell Santner taking over as captain.
Pandya will lead India in the absence of Rohit Sharma, while Virat Kohli will not feature and Ruturaj Gaikwad misses out with a wrist injury.
All-rounder Pandya said: "We will try to win obviously. New Zealand is a good team both in T20Is and ODIs.
"They always challenge you. We will have to be at their best to beat them."
Shubman Gill comes into the series in the form of his life, scoring a sublime 208 in the first ODI and a century in the third match.
Gill is set to open the batting with Ishan Kishan, so Prithvi Shaw will have to bide his time.
Pandya said: "Shubman has done well and will start the series. The way he is batting and he was already in the team."
India and New Zealand were beaten semi-finalists in last year's T20 World Cup in Australia, although many of the players involved in the tournament will not be featuring this time around.
Suryakumar on top of the world
Suryakumar Yadav is another player New Zealand will be eager to see the back of before he gets set.
He was named the ICC Men's T20I Player of the Year for 2022 this week and is the top-ranked T20I batter in the world.
Suryakumar made a decisive 112 in his last T20I innings against Sri Lanka, his third century in six months in this format.
Baptism of fire for uncapped New Zealand bowlers
Uncapped duo Ben Lister and Henry Shipley are poised to make their debuts against a formidable batting line-up.
Lister will provide an alternative left-arm seam option with no Trent Boult for Santner to call upon.
Paceman Shipley will also be looking to make his mark on the T20I stage after making his ODI debut against Pakistan and facing India twice.
The hosts edged past the Black Caps with one ball remaining in Lucknow, winning by six wickets in a low-scoring thriller to level the three-match T20I series.
New Zealand only managed 99-8 from their 20-over allocation on a difficult wicket but made India wait until the final over for victory as Suryakumar Yadav saw his side over the line with a vital 26 not out.
Pandya, captaining in the absence of white-ball veteran Rohit Sharma, was alongside Suryakumar at the end unbeaten on 15 but expressed his disappointment with the surface at home.
"I always believed we will finish the game," Pandya said. "It went quite deep, but that is how it is. In these kinds of games, it is important to not panic.
"Rather than taking risks, we rotated the strike. Having said that, this is a shocker of a pitch. We need to make sure we have better pitches. Even 120 would have been a winning total here.
"We kept to our plans, we made sure they did not rotate the strike, and the wickets kept falling. Dew didn't play much of a role because if you see they were able to spin the ball more than us.
"It was a shocker of a wicket. The ball was flying for even the fast bowlers."
The in-form Suryakumar continues to rise his stock within white-ball cricket, though his 31-ball 26 was a far cry from his usual flamboyance and aggressive shot-making.
Having blasted 112 and 51 in his two previous T20I appearances against Sri Lanka earlier in January, Suryakumar acknowledged an alternate approach was required on Sunday.
"A different version of [Suryakumar] today," he said after receiving the Player of the Match award. "Adapting to the situation was very important. After losing [Washington Sundar], I had to make sure I batted until the end.
"[Sundar's run out] was my mistake, I didn't see where the ball went. Of course, it was a challenging wicket, but you have to be able to adapt.
"We just needed one hit in the end, and it was very important to calm ourselves down.
"Before I got the winning runs, Hardik came up to me and told me you will hit the winning runs this ball. That gave me a lot of confidence."
With an ODI series victory already secured, India will look for a white-ball double over New Zealand in Wednesday's T20I decider in Ahmedabad.
India announced their 17-man squad on Wednesday for the Ireland series, which starts on June 26 in Malahide.
Pant and Shreyas Iyer will be a part of India's Test squad for the rearranged fixture against England, giving Pandya the opportunity to captain the white-ball side and Bhuvneshwar Kumar to deputise as vice-captain.
Pandya is acting as Pant's vice-captain for the ongoing five-match T20I series against South Africa, which India trail 2-1.
Tripathi has been rewarded for a fine Indian Premier League campaign, scoring 413 runs for Sunrisers Hyderabad an average of 37.6.
"I am very happy that the selectors and everybody believed in me and whatever hard work I have put in, I have got the rewards," Tripathi told PTI after the announcement.
"And hopefully, if I get an opportunity to play, I will try and give my best."
Sanju Samson has been recalled, while Suryakumar Yadav returns after recovering from a forearm injury that ruled him out of the IPL and South Africa series.
Experienced campaigner Dinesh Karthik will come in as wicket-keeper in the absence of Pant, though Ishan Kishan or Samson can also fill in behind the stumps if needs be.
VVS Laxman will coach India on the tour, with Rahul Dravid overseeing the Test side in England.
India’s T20I squad: Hardik Pandya (Captain), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (vice-captain), Ishan Kishan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav, Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik.
Australia wrapped up the series with comfortable back-to-back victories but saw their hopes of a 3-0 sweep dashed by an improved performance from India, who were boosted by batting first after Virat Kohli won the toss.
That allowed a sublime unbeaten partnership of 150 between Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja to lay down a marker, setting the hosts a target of 303.
Aaron Finch (75) and Glenn Maxwell (59) did not lack ambition in pursuit of that total, but India - led by Shardul Thakur (3-51) and Jasprit Bumrah (2-43) - protected their lead, bowling Australia out for 289 to get up and running ahead of the Twenty20 International series starting later in the week.
It had initially looked as though this could be another comfortable outing for Australia as wickets fell around Kohli and the captain was then stopped short on 63 following a successful review.
Kohli, who became the fastest man to 12,000 ODI runs on Wednesday, was caught behind off Josh Hazlewood, claiming the scalp of India's skipper for the third time in this series and the fourth time in his one-day career - a tally only bettered by four other bowlers.
It meant Kohli will finish a calendar year without an ODI century for the first time since 2008 - his debut year - but Pandya (92 not out) and Jadeja (66 no) picked up the slack.
They combined for 12 fours and four maximums to accelerate India to 302-5 and belatedly pose Australia a serious question.
David Warner had set the tone with the bat in the second ODI but missed out with injury here, meaning Marnus Labuschagne moved up to open and made only seven before playing onto his stumps from debutant T Natarajan - India's first powerplay wicket of the series.
Steve Smith, the outstanding centurion last time out, could only muster the same total, too, after sending Thakur through to KL Rahul.
Heavy lifting from Finch kept Australia on course, but attempts to maintain this momentum were disrupted by a further two telling Jadeja contributions.
Shikhar Dhawan caught at the second attempt at long-on as Finch tried to launch the all-rounder over the fence, before Jadeja stooped for a brilliant take himself off new boy Cameron Green (21).
Maxwell's big hitting - his four sixes including one that landed on the roof and another booming reverse sweep - took the result down to the wire, but his departure to a Bumrah yorker left Australia's tailenders with too much to do.
Bangladesh had been restricted to 227 on day one, but for a while on Friday they looked to be following that up with an extremely effective display in the field.
None of India's first four batsmen managed to reach 25, with openers KL Rahul (10) and Shubman Gill (20) tallying just 30 between them, the former caught right at the crease and the latter misjudging a sweep attempt.
But Pant (93) and Iyer (87) soon took charge, putting on 159 for the fifth wicket, with India eventually tallying 314 all out.
Pant and Iyer each hit 12 boundaries, including five sixes for Pant. Although there was a hint of frustration from Pant as he was dismissed in the 90s for the sixth time in his career, he and Iyer had undoubtedly taken India from looking in trouble to almost complete control.
Pant ultimately fell to Mehidy Hasan Miraz (1-61), with the outside edge landing in the gloves of Nurul Hasan, while a straight ball from Shakib Al Hasan (4-79) accounted for Iyer as he was pinned lbw.
Shakib and Taijul Islam (4-74) ran through the tail, although they could not prevent India surpassing 300 and eventually opening an 87-run lead.
Six overs were possible for the start of Bangladesh's second innings before stumps – Najmul Hossain Shanto (five not out) and Zakir Hasan (two not out) ensured the hosts will begin Saturday's action with a full complement of wickets as they bid to level the two-Test series.
Pant and Iyer power India into the ascendancy
There was clearly a reasonable amount of pressure on Pant and Iyer after India's start as Bangladesh's bowlers began in particularly impressive form.
But suddenly the likes of Taijul looked considerably less threatening once Pant stepped up. You have to feel a degree of sympathy for him yet again falling in the 90s, but that should not take away from a vital score.
Taijul gave Bangladesh a platform
It is true, Taijul did struggle to get to grips with Pant and Iyer, but his early work should not be overlooked.
He snaffled Rahul and Gill lbw on middle and leg, before also claiming the scalp of Cheteshwar Pujara (24) – thanks to Mominul Haque's catch – to reduce India to 72-3. Perhaps Bangladesh did not take full advantage of his initial efforts, but if they do manage to turn things around in the second innings, they might look back on Taijul's early treble as significant.
Pant was appointed Delhi Capitals skipper ahead of the 2021 IPL with Shreyas Iyer impacted by a shoulder injury.
The India wicketkeeper-batsman retained the role on a permanent basis and will come up against Rohit when Delhi start their IPL campaign with a showdown against Mumbai on Sunday.
Capitals coach Ponting championed Rohit to be installed as Indians skipper during the former Australia captain's time with that franchise and the batter has proved to be an impressive leader - lifting the IPL trophy five times.
Rohit has also taken over from Virat Kohli as India captain and Ponting believes Pant, 24, has the credentials to have that honour.
Ponting said: "I hadn't thought about that actually but they [Pant and Rohit] are actually quite similar.
"When Rohit took over at Mumbai, he was quite a young man as well, and had started out in his international cricket.
"He was probably very similar, I'm not sure how old he was but he would have been 23-24, similar to what Rishabh is here at the Delhi Capitals.
"To tell you honestly, they're quite similar people. I know they are great mates and they talk all the time and they're probably exchanging things about leadership and captaincy along the way as well.
"Rohit probably doesn't want to give too many secrets away because we're going to play against him in a couple of days' time. I think there's every opportunity for Rishabh's journey to be similar to Rohit Sharma's.
"He's a young captain of a successful franchise and growing on a daily basis and hopefully Rishabh can have the same sort of success Rohit's had at the Mumbai Indians.
"And then with some experience in a role like this in a high-pressure tournament like the IPL, I've got no doubt in the years to come there's every chance that Rishabh could be an international captain. No doubt about it."
Proteas captain Dean Elgar and Keegan Petersen combined for a 78-run partnership after tea as South Africa chased 212 to win the Cape Town tussle and take a 2-1 series victory.
India took what may yet be a priceless wicket with what proved to be the final delivery of the day, with Elgar caught down the leg side by Pant off Jasprit Bumrah, a review showing a clear nick.
He fell for 30, with Petersen unbeaten on 48 and South Africa 101-2, needing 111 more runs to get over the line.
There was Test history made earlier in the day as India were bowled out for 198 in their second innings, with Pant making 100 not out – described by India great Sachin Tendulkar on Twitter as "a simply outstanding knock".
All 10 India wickets fell to catches, just as they had in the first innings. That meant for the first time in Tests, a team lost all of their 20 wickets to catches.
India slumped from 152-4 to fall short of 200, but it was not for the lack of trying from Pant, who scored his runs from just 139 balls, with six fours and four sixes.
Temba Bavuma almost caught the wicketkeeper-batsman on 94 when the left-hander struck powerfully down the ground, but the ball squirted through the fielder's grasp and ran to the boundary.
He reached the fourth century of his Test career by tucking away a single to long leg before raising his bat in delight, but India, who began the day at 57-2, failed to back up his efforts. Collectively, Pant's team-mates contributed just 70, with 28 coming from extras.
Skipper Virat Kohli dug in before falling to Lungi Ngidi (3-21) for 29, having faced as many as 143 balls. Kagiso Rabada took 3-53 in another impressive effort from the Proteas in the field.
Jansen impresses again
Marco Jansen, South Africa's 6ft 9in paceman, took 4-36 in just his third Test appearance. Since making his debut in the opening match of this series, Jansen has taken 19 Test wickets at an average of 16.47. His pace and bounce has at times been too much for India, who are perhaps the first of many Test teams who will suffer against his menace.
History repeating for Proteas?
Cheteshwar Pujara fell to just the second delivery of the morning, with Petersen producing an outstanding catch on the leap at leg slip. Now the safe hands of Petersen can guide South Africa towards victory with the bat. Only on three previous occasions have teams won by posting a score of at least 200 in the fourth innings at Newlands. One of those was in 2007, when South Africa beat India by five wickets to clinch a 2-1 series win.
Kohli looked in good touch in his landmark match – and the first since Rohit Sharma replaced him as Test captain – before he was bowled by Lasith Embuldeniya for 45.
Hanuma Vihari made a composed 58 after being selected to come in at number three, but it was Pant who took centre stage following Kohli's departure with a typically explosive innings.
The wicketkeeper-batsman smashed 96 off 97 balls, but failed to reach three figures as he was bowled by Suranga Lakmal late in an opening day of the series that ended with India on 357-6.
Rohit started his reign by winning the toss and put on 52 in an opening stand with Mayank Agarwal before the new skipper fell to Lahiru Kumara for 29.
Agarwal (33) was also sent on his way before lunch, trapped leg before by Embuldeniya (2-107), and Kohli struck five boundaries before losing his off stump to the spinner to end a stand of 90 with Vihari.
With Cheteshwar Pujara dropped along with Ajinkya Rahane, the elegant Vihari set about trying to establish himself in the side with a half-century before playing on to a delivery from Fernando.
Pant produced the fireworks in a swashbuckling knock to raise the run-rate, putting on 104 for the sixth wicket with Ravindra Jadeja (45 not out) on a tough day for Sri Lanka.
The tourists were lifted late on, though, when was cleaned up through the gate by Lakmal and kicked the ground as he trudged off in fury.
Pant pummels Sri Lanka
A fifth Test century was there for the taking for Pant after Pant dispatched the Sri Lanka attack to all parts.
The destructive left-hander shifted through the gears after bringing up his half-century, launching Embuldeniya for back-to-back sixes as he took 22 off an over from the spinner.
Pant had cleared the rope four times and hit another nine boundaries until he fell so close to three figures.
Kohli joins 8,000 club but hundred remains elusive
Former captain Kohli strode to the crease with an air expectation on such a big occasion for him.
That was building as he ticked along nicely, scoring the 38 runs he needed to reach the 8,000-mark in the longest format.
There was to be no first Test century since November 2019, though, as Embuldeniya failed to read the script.
England came into the rearranged final encounter of last year's series on a high following the whitewash of New Zealand and soon reduced India to 98-5, before Pant (146 off 111) and Ravindra Jadeja (83 not out) led the fightback.
Their partnership of 222 – in which Pant did the heavy lifting with a barrage of boundaries and the fastest Test century by an India wicketkeeper – helped carry the tourists to 338-7 by stumps.
Ben Stokes had unsurprisingly put India in to bat, potentially pursuing a fourth successive successful fourth-innings chase.
The England captain first needed his bowlers to deliver, and James Anderson (3-52) did exactly that in the morning session in tempting edges from Shubman Gill (17) and Cheteshwar Pujara (13) – Zak Crawley taking each catch either side of putting down a chance from Hanuma Vihari off the bowling of Matthew Potts.
Rain interrupted play – bringing an early lunch – but not England's momentum, as Potts (2-85) pinned Vihari (20) and then bamboozled Virat Kohli (11), who pulled his bat away too late and saw the ball run off the face into his stumps.
Anderson's third wicket from Shreyas Iyer (15) owed a great deal to a superb Sam Billings catch, yet Pant's big hitting turned the tide – helped by some increasingly untidy work from England.
Pant eventually departed to Joe Root, nicking to Crawley in attempting another blast to pass 150, but the hosts still have work to do with the ball before they will again be asked to score well with the bat in a continuation of this entertaining new era under Stokes.
New foe for Kohli
Many have pondered the possibility this is the last time Anderson and Kohli come face to face in a Test match, given the England great turns 40 later this month. No bowler has claimed more Kohli wickets in Tests than Anderson (seven).
But this time it was the turn of the new man. Potts had stunning figures of 3-3 bowling to Kane Williamson in the New Zealand series and quickly added another huge scalp, with Kohli now averaging an underwhelming 28.63 for this delayed series.
Pant profits
Despite India's 2-1 lead as they bid to win a Test series in England for the first time since 2007, Kohli was not alone in struggling slightly with the bat last year. Pant's series average entering this match was 20.86, with a high score of 50.
But suspicions England's aggressive approach could soon meet their match were affirmed by his ability to find the boundary time and again, avoiding the sort of errors on which Stokes' attack might have preyed. Pant had 23 boundaries in this innings, surpassing his 15 in the previous four matches between the sides combined.
Bumrah (5-24) claimed his first five-wicket Test haul on home soil as India took only 35 balls to reduce the tourists from 86-6 to 109 all out in the opening session in Bengaluru on Sunday.
Rohit Sharma's home side then made 303-9 declared in their second innings of the day-night Test, setting Sri Lanka a highly improbable 447 to draw the series.
Pant (50) bludgeoned a 28-ball half-century - the fastest of all time for India in the longest format - and Shreyas Iyer (67) scored his second fifty of the match, with Rohit striking 46 at the top of the order.
Sri Lanka were 28-1 at stumps after Bumrah removed Lahiru Thirimanne without scoring with the pink ball under the lights as India closed in on a 2-0 whitewash.
Bumrah and Ravichandran Ashwin (2-30) wasted no time in wrapping up the tourists' first innings at the start of the day, after they resumed in big trouble in reply to India's 252 all out.
Mayank Agarwal (22) then missed out again with the bat for India, but captain Rohit and Hanuma Vihari (35) put on 56 for the second wicket.
It was Pant who produced the fireworks, taking the Sri Lanka attack to all parts, with Virat Kohli (13) falling to Praveen Jayawickrama (4-78) and Ravindra Jadeja bowled by Vishwa Fernando for 22 as India were in a rush to pile on the runs.
Jayawickrama, who was able to return to the field after limping off, had Pant caught and bowled and Iyer ticked along nicely before Lasith Embuldeniya (3-87) trapped him leg before.
Thirimanne fell to Bumrah in the first over of Sri Lanka's second innings after Rohit declared, but Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis prevented further damage from being done.
Home comforts for brilliant Bumrah
Bumrah had struck three times on day one to put Sri Lanka in the mire and the paceman finally claimed a maiden five-wicket Test haul in his homeland on Sunday.
The relentless quick had taken five wickets seven times on tour and added the eighth such harvest of his career by getting Embuldeniya and Niroshan Dickwella caught behind.
Bumrah later struck again by generating sharp swing to see the back of Thirimanne.
Pant cuts loose
The stage was set for wicketkeeper-batsman Pant to cut loose, and he did not disappoint the India fans.
The explosive left-hander struck two sixes and seven fours as he broke a record that was held by the great Kapil Dev, who blasted a 30-ball half-century against Pakistan back in 1982.
Iyer gave another exhibition of his class in the middle order in an 87-ball knock.
Wicketkeeper-batter Pant was involved in a near-fatal car collision in northern India in December 2022 but comes back into the international fold just 16 months after the incident.
The 26-year-old's performances in this season's Indian Premier League have secured his place in the 15-man squad, having scored 398 runs in 11 innings at a strike rate of 158.6 for the Delhi Capitals.
Pant is one of two wicketkeepers named in the squad for the tournament starting on June 1 in the United States and West Indies, alongside Sanju Samson.
Despite not previously featuring in a World Cup squad, Samson has impressed in the IPL after accumulating 385 runs in nine innings, striking at a rate of 161.1 for the league-leading Rajasthan Royals.
India captain Rohit Sharma and vice-captain Hardik Pandya will lead the side in the United States and West Indies, though Pant and Samson's inclusion leaves no place for KL Rahul or Jitesh Sharma.
Yuzvendra Chahal did not feature in either T20I squad in the recent series against South Africa and Afghanistan but was another India star included based on their IPL showings this year.
Leg-spinner Chahal, who will be joined by Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel in the spin-bowling department, has 13 wickets at an average of 23.5 for the Royals this term.
Jasprit Bumrah heads the pace-bowling lineup with Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep Singh, while Hardik and Shivam Dube present all-rounder options with the ball.
Dube offers a decisive alternative with the bat, too, having top-scored with 124 runs across three innings in the home series against Afghanistan in January.
At the top of the order, Yashasvi Jaiswal will likely open alongside captain Rohit, with Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav providing some high-class backup lower down.
India face Ireland in New York on June 5 to start their World Cup campaign before meeting rivals Pakistan, USA and Canada.
India's provisional squad:
Rohit Sharma (captain), Hardik Pandya, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.
Pant was unbeaten on 89 as India remarkably chased down 328 to beat Australia by three wickets at the Gabba, sealing a 2-1 series triumph as they retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
It ended Australia's 31-match unbeaten run at the venue as the tourists pulled off one of the all-time great Test victories, leaving Pant thrilled.
"This is one of the biggest moments of my life now, and I'm happy that all the support staff and all my team-mates supported me even when I wasn't playing," he said during an on-field presentation.
"It's been a dream series. The team management always backs me and tells me, you are a match-winner and you have to go win the match for the team.
"I keep thinking every day that I want to win matches for India, and I did it today. It was a fifth-day pitch and the ball was turning a bit. I thought I have to be disciplined with my shot selection."
Ajinkya Rahane was almost lost for words to sum up his feelings, having come in as stand-in captain after Virat Kohli returned home to attend the birth of his child.
"It really means a lot to us. I don't know how to describe this victory. I'm just proud of all the boys, each and every individual," said Rahane, who contributed a brisk 24 from 22 balls in the final innings.
"We just wanted to give our best, not to think about the result. When I went in, conversation between me and [Cheteshwar] Pujara was Puji to bat normal and me to go for my shots, because we knew Rishabh and Mayank [Agarwal] were there.
"Credit to Pujara, the way he handled the pressure was magnificent, and Rishabh was brilliant in the end."
Having bowled India out for 36 to win the opening Test, Australia were left to rue a series that slipped from their grasp.
Captain Tim Paine conceded India deserved their success and urged his own team to look forward to the challenges ahead.
He said: "Absolutely disappointed.
"We came here to win the Test and win the series, it's been a bit of a trend that we were found wanting in the key moments and completely outplayed by a tough Indian side that fully deserves the win.
"I think there's lots of things we'll look back at, but what's done is done. We need to look forward now, there's a big series in South Africa coming up, we've been outplayed by the better side in this series."
Rahul was due to lead India in the absence of the rested Rohit Sharma, but the batter has sustained a groin injury.
That has opened the door for Pant to step up, with Hardik Pandya named vice-captain after leading Gujarat Titans to the Indian Premier League title in his first tournament as captain.
Delhi Capitals skipper Pant is relishing the opportunity to lead his country in a series that starts at Arun Jaitley Stadium on Thursday.
The wicketkeeper-batter said: "It's a great feeling, especially getting an opportunity like this in your hometown.
"There is nothing bigger than this. It didn't come under very good circumstances but I will try to make most of it and give my 100 per cent."
Pant came under fire for costly mistakes he made during a must-win IPL encounter with Mumbai Indians last month, but says he will learn from such experiences.
"I think it [captaining in the IPL] will help me a lot because when you keep doing the same thing over a period of time, you tend to improve," the 24-year-old said.
"I am someone who keeps on learning from my mistakes and that's something which is going to help me in the coming days as well."
Spinner Kuldeep Yadav has also been ruled out of the series after taking a blow on his right hand in the nets on Tuesday, while Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah have been rested along with Rohit.
India will become the first men's team to win 13 T20I matches in a row if they take a 1-0 lead over the Proteas.
The tourists are also in excellent form, having been victorious in 11 of their past 12 games in the shortest format - their only loss during that time coming against Australia in the T20 World Cup last October.
Malik to be unleashed, Karthik returns
Umran Malik has been rewarded for a hugely impressive IPL by being called up for India duty for the first time.
The 22-year-old paceman was the fourth-highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 22 for Sunrisers Hyderabad and is a hugely exciting prospect.
Dinesh Karthik has not played for his country since 2019, but the 37-year-old wicketkeeper-batter is back in the fold with the World Cup on the horizon.
Nortje back, Van der Dussen closing on landmark
South Africa have brought a strong squad to India and are boosted by the return to fitness of Anrich Nortje.
Nortje had been sidelined by a hip injury, but played in the IPL and is set to fire in a hostile South Africa attack.
The Proteas also have a dangerous batting line-up and Rassie van der Dussen needs only 67 runs to reach the 1,000 landmark in T20Is. If he scores those runs in his next innings, he would be the joint-fastest to reach that figure along with Faf du Plessis (32 innings).
Local police said Pant's car collided with a road divider and then caught fire after the India wicketkeeper "dozed off" on January 30, near his hometown of Roorkee, Uttarakhand.
The 25-year-old was hospitalised with injuries to his head, back and legs, before he was later airlifted to Mumbai to undergo further surgery.
Swapn Kishore Singh, superintendent of Haridwar rural police, told the Times of India Pant was "lucky to survive" the crash, with pictures of the cricketer's wrecked car widely shared on social media.
Pant reported on Monday his surgery had been a success and showed gratitude for the well-wishes he had received, saying on Twitter: "I am humbled and grateful for all the support and good wishes.
"I am glad to let you know that my surgery was a success.
"The road to recovery has begun and I am ready for the challenges ahead.
"From the bottom of my heart, I also would like to thank all my fans, team-mates, doctors and the physios for your kind words and encouragement.
"[I am] looking forward to see you all on the field."
On a baking-hot afternoon in Ahmedabad, Pant made England suffer in the sun as he helped India recover from 80-4 and later 146-6 to reach 294-7 at the close.
The 23-year-old reached his century, his third for India and a first on home soil, with a slog-swept six off Joe Root. That was the 115th ball that Pant faced but he perished to the 118th, miscuing a pull James Anderson to Root at midwicket.
And angry though he was to toss away his wicket in such a fashion, day two of this final match in the series was emphatically Pant's day, India establishing a first-innings cushion of 89 so far as they attempt to build on their 2-1 lead.
From 24-1 overnight, India were dealt two major blows midway through the morning session when Cheteshwar Pujara was snared lbw by Jack Leach, soon followed back by captain Virat Kohli, caught behind off Ben Stokes without scoring. England snatched another big wicket immediately before lunch, Stokes taking the slip catch off Anderson to remove Ajinkya Rahane.
Losing Rohit Sharma for 49 was another significant blow to prospects of going significantly beyond England's 205, Stokes trapping him with a delivery that nipped back sharply off the pitch and struck the batsman above the back pad.
When Ravichandran Ashwin fell for 13 to Leach, England had a first-innings lead in their sights, but those hopes soon faded. Stokes threatened another breakthrough, but Pant's derring-do chop outside off stump cleared second slip, racing away to the boundary to take India past the 200 mark.
Pant pulled Stokes to the boundary to bring the teams level, and when the England all-rounder dropped the ball on his run-up in the same over, it summed up his frustration when he booted it away.
With wind in his sails, Pant audaciously took on the new ball as Anderson entered the attack, giddily clubbing the first two deliveries to the boundary, and in Anderson's next over he reverse-swept the paceman over England's slip cordon and to the ropes. Washington Sundar (60 not out) provided capable company in a partnership worth 113.
Pant was upset with himself for getting out so soon after reaching three figures, giving Anderson a third wicket, but by that stage the young batsman owed nobody an apology.
India turn up the heat
As the temperature climbed above 40 degrees Celsius, England wilted. Which is not to say the effort levels went down, because Stokes most notably was charging in with familiar elan, but India were at ease in the scorching conditions, and the more escapes that the hosts enjoyed, the more the heat took its effect on those in the field.
Misfortune combined with searing heat is a fatiguing combination, while Dom Bess' struggles meant England lacked a reliable off-spinning option. Throw Pant's brilliance into the equation and it proved a wearing late afternoon for the tourists.
Pristine Pant
Or almost pristine, anyway. He lived dangerously at times, offering glimpses of chances to England, but this was quite a coming-of-age moment for Pant as he celebrated a first Test century in India. The likelihood is that plenty more will come from the wicketkeeper-batsman, who struck 13 fours and a pair of sixes in his knock, changing the complexion of this contest blow by blow.
India have beaten all comers on home soil over the past seven weeks, cheered on by passionate local support in every city they have visited.
The Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, the biggest cricket ground on the planet, will be teeming with blue shirts on Sunday and they will all be barracking for the same result.
When Pakistan played India at the same venue earlier in the competition, their team director Mickey Arthur pointed out that the lack of away fans meant “it didn’t seem like an ICC event, it seemed like a BCCI event” but Cummins insists Australia must not be daunted by the numbers game.
Instead, he wants them to savour the opportunity of ruining the partisan atmosphere.
“I think you’ve got to embrace it. The crowd’s obviously going to be very one-sided but in sport there’s nothing more satisfying than hearing a big crowd go silent and that’s the aim for us tomorrow,” he said.
“Every part of a final, even in the lead-up, there’s going to be noise and more people and interest and you just can’t get overwhelmed. You’ve got to be up for it, you’ve got to love it and just know whatever happens it’s fine. You just want to finish the day with no regrets.
“We play over here in India a lot so the noise is not something new. I think on this scale it’s probably bigger than we would have experienced before but it’s not something totally foreign to what we’ve had before. Everyone deals with it slightly differently, you’ll see Davey [Warner] probably dancing and winning the crowd over and other guys just staying in their own bubble, but it should be good.”
While India’s host status and irresistible run of results – 10 straight wins including a straightforward six-wicket success over Australia at the start of the group stage on October 8 – makes them favourites, their opponents boast the better pedigree.
Australia are five-time winners of the biggest prize in the one-day game, thrashing India by 134 runs when they met in the 2003 final in Johannesburg, and Cummins is one of several survivors from the triumphant 2015 team.
“We were all kids not too long ago, watching some of those great teams win the 1999, 2003, 2007 World Cups and that’s the opportunity ahead of us tomorrow, which is really exciting,” he said.
“To be captain would be an absolute privilege to lift the trophy with these great bunch of blokes. It’d be awesome and in terms of the pinnacle, I think it is right up there. It’s got the longest history of a world event where all the teams compete and you only get a shot at it every four years.
“So even if you have a long career, you might only play in two of these events – 2015 is still a career highlight for me, so I think tomorrow if we win, that might pip it.”
Australia have no injury concerns in their 15-man squad and could go in unchanged following their tight semi-final win over South Africa. All-rounder Marcus Stoinis could come into consideration as an extra bowling option, with Marnus Labuschagne the only specialist batter looking over his shoulder.
The Kings won the toss and chose to field first, quickly regretting that decision when the Capitals got off to a magnificent start with the bat.
After losing South African Hashim Amla early for 3, former India opener Gautam Gambhir and former West Indies batsman Kirk Edwards put on 107 for the second wicket before Gambhir fell for a 35-ball 63 in the 11th over.
Edwards went on to make the next highest score in the innings with 59 off 31 balls while Ben Dunk (37) and Ashley Nurse (34) also made solid contributions as the Capitals got what they thought would be a match-winning total of 228-8 off their 20 overs.
Anureet Singh took 4-29 from his four overs for the Kings.
Bhilwara’s opening pair of Lendl Simmons and Solomon Mire then put on only 22 for the first wicket before Simmons was first to go for 11.
It was quickly 27-2 when Tillakaratne Dilshan went for just one.
Mire and new batsman Robin Bist then put on 67 for the third wicket before Bist went in the 11th over for 30 leaving the Kings 94-3.
Mire was next to go, 40 runs and three overs later for a well-made top score of 70 from 40 balls including nine fours and three sixes.
Eventually, the Kings were 186-7 in the 18th over before captain Irfan Pathan performed a miracle to help them get over the line at 229-7 in 19.2 overs.
Pathan made 65* off just 19 balls including one four and nine sixes.
Isuru Udana took 3-51 from his four overs for the Capitals.
Full Scores
India Capitals 228-8 off 20 overs (Gautam Gambhir 65, Kirk Edwards 59, Ben Funk 37, Ashley Nurse 34, Anureet Singh 4-29)
Bhilwara Kings 229-7 off 19.2 overs (Solomon Mire 70, Irfan Pathan 65*, Robin Bist 30, Christopher Barnwell 22, Isuru Udana 3-51, Rusty Theron 2-33)
Though the weather let up at mid-morning in Kanpur, heavy rain overnight did most of the damage and the umpires eventually called it off at 2pm local time.
Things were only slightly better on day one, as a combination of heavy rain and poor light allowed just 35 overs.
India had opted to bowl and dismissed three in the play that was possible on Friday. Bangladesh stand at 107-3, with Mominul Haque (40 not out) and Mushfiqur Rahim (6 not out) now set to resume at the crease on Sunday.
