Malan was dismissed for 80 in the first innings of the ongoing second Ashes Test.
Batting at No. 3, Malan started Day 3 of the Adelaide Test on 1 and forged a strong partnership with skipper Joe Root. But it fell apart after the first session when Root got out for 62 and Malan was dismissed for 80 in quick succession.
The duo had also missed out on hitting a ton in the opening Ashes Test at Gabba last week. While Root made 89 in the second innings of the first Test, Malana scored 82.
"We talk about getting 20 wickets or what have you, but in Australia there's big runs to be had and big hundreds win you Test matches," Malan said after England were bowled out for 236 in their first innings in the second Test, conceding a massive lead of 237 runs.
"In the last match both Rooty and myself were in a position to score hundreds and we didn't do it, and we were in the same position here and both times we've been found short as a batting unit compared to the Australian batting unit.
"So that's something we must do better from this next innings onwards, that if someone gets in, to make sure that we get that big 100."
Having appeared in 19 Tests so far, Dawid Malan has nine Test fifties to his name and reached the three-figure mark only once.
The southpaw said he was "obviously pleased" to get runs in the opening two Tests but "to get to 80 in two innings in a row and get out softly is very disappointing".
"We've only had three innings so far, a couple of the boys have had some scores, but it's once we're in, it's about making the big scores," he added.
"Marnus (Labuschagne) did it this innings for Australia and Travis Head did it in Brisbane, and that's where the games slipped away a little and put us under pressure, and that's what we haven't done well enough so far."
(With AFP inputs)