Australia captain Tim Paine was "pretty disappointed" after a humbling eight-wicket defeat in the Boxing Day Test against India in Melbourne.
Paine was especially critical of his team's batting unit as they crashed out to scores of just 195 & 200 and struggled to cope with a collectively brilliant Indian attack.
"Pretty disappointed. We played some poor cricket, sloppy cricket for a major part of the game," said the skipper at the post-match presentation ceremony.
"Credit to India, they forced us into mistakes with the bat, ball and also on the field. And when you do that against a quality team, it costs you. But again, need to credit India as they put us under pressure."
Paine, though, admitted his team should've held their own a lot better on home shores. None of the Australian batsmen reached fifty in either innings, with Marnus Labuschagne top-scoring after a 48 on Day 1.
All-rounder Cameron Green showed a lot of fight with a 45 in the second innings and was the only positive to have come out of the defeat for Paine.
"We have issues with the batting and need to get it sorted. We've seen the temperament that he (Green) showed and as he plays more games, he'll get even better, which is exciting."
With the series level 1-1, it isn't yet certain, however, whether the New Year's Test will remain in Sydney because of the sudden COVID-19 outbreak there and quarantine regulation imposed on those arriving from New South Wales to Brisbane, the venue for the final Test.
Paine recognised it's important for his team to stay together after the defeat, although few of them may play some Big Bash League (BBL) games in the 9-day break till the next Test.
"We'll stay together probably, although some guys may get released to play BBL games but mostly, we should be together," he signed off.
(Inputs from Cricbuzz)
