Steve Smith
Not enough runs on the board and dropping a number of catches led to Australia's eight-wicket defeat in the second Test match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, said Australia skipper Tim Paine.
Paine also credited the India bowlers saying they have been extremely disciplined and are executing the plans better than the Aussie batsmen have been.
"India are bowling well. They have been extremely disciplined. We haven't really been able to get partnerships together. But from what I have seen watching Marnus and Steve Smith, this is not the first time. teams have targetted their stumps. That happens every single Test match. Having said that these guys are executing it better.
Someone like Steve, in particular, hasn't been able to get in yet. Once he gets in, he will find a way as he always does, the rest will follow suit and need to," said Paine while speaking to the media on Tuesday.
Paine said there won't be big changes and added that the team needs to play better.
"We just need to bat better. No matter who is there, we just need to scoring runs. That is our job as the top 7 in the Australian cricket team. If you are not then obviously they (selectors) will look at other people. But yeah, these are the best we have at the moment but they have not been good enough to get the job done."
The Aussie skipper hinted that they might look to attack the Indian bowlers from the next game, something that Steve Smith had said earlier in the morning before the day's play.
"Absolutely (we will take risks). Risk-rewarded, that's the way game is. Everybody does it differently. Matthew Wade sweeps, others use their feet, Cam Green didn't attack him (Ashwin) overly today but played him nice. Everyone has to have plans and have confidence to go about it," said Paine.
