Flat pitches and dropped catches made it tough going for Australia's bowlers in the four-Test series against India, skipper Steve Smith said on Saturday
Leading by example: Aussie skipper Steven Smith takes a flying one-handed catch to dismiss Rohit Sharma on Day Five of the Sydney Test on Saturday
Sydney: Flat pitches and dropped catches made it tough going for Australia's bowlers in the four-Test series against India, skipper Steve Smith said on Saturday.
Leading by example: Aussie skipper Steven Smith takes a flying one-handed catch to dismiss Rohit Sharma on Day Five of the Sydney Test on Saturday. Pic/Getty Images
The Australians took the series 2-0, but plucky India held on for a second successive draw over five days in the final Test in Sydney.
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Smith said the Aussies might have won by a greater margin if not for the unresponsive pitches and bungled catches. Shaun Marsh's dropped catch on Saturday when Murali Vijay was on 42 — on the way to 80 — was Australia's 17th missed fielding opportunity in the series.
"Throughout this season we've let ourselves down in the field. Perhaps if we had taken a few more chances, it might have been a little bit different.
"They are not the standards we set as an Australian team. We have a lot of work to do on our fielding."
'Tough to get 20 wickets'
Australia could not take 20 Indian wickets in the last two Tests in Melbourne and Sydney, which finished in draws. "It has been tough to get 20 wickets in this Test series," he said.
"The wickets haven't broken up quite as much as we thought they would. I don't know the reasons for that.
"The bowlers have toiled extremely hard throughout these four Test matches and I'm really proud of the way they gone through these games."
It was a batsmen's series with a total of 15 centuries scored, four each to Smith and Indian counterpart Virat Kohli. Smith finished as the player of the series.
Apart from his hundreds he took some exceptional catches, none better than his brilliant flying right-handed grasp at second slip to dismiss Rohit Sharma for 39 on Saturday.
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