Pitch did not break up as expected, says Steve Smith

Sydney: Australia skipper Steven Smith on Saturday said that the pitches did not “break up quite as much as expected” during the four-match cricket Test series against India and it hampered the home side’s chances of winning by a bigger margin.  After winning the first two Tests in Adelaide and Brisbane, Australia could have had better results in the remaining matches, but they failed to grab 20 wickets. “It has been tough to get 20 wickets in this Test series. The wickets haven’t broken up quite as much as we thought they might.

I don’t know the reasons for that. But it’s been tough and the bowlers have toiled extremely hard throughout these four Test matches,” Smith said at the post-match press conference.
“It would have been nice to get the win today. I thought 90 overs with them having a little go at us would be a good chance to win this game but it wasn’t to be.

“I think the wicket didn’t break up quite as much as I thought it would. There wasn’t much up and down movement with balls on the stumps. I think with Lyon bowling into the rough, there were a few that hit the gloves and went straight into the ground,” Smith added.