There is pin drop silence in the dressing room, says Hick

Graeme Hick was downcast as he walked into the media room at the end of third day’s play in the fourth and final Test against India here on Monday. Australia’s batting coach was aware of his team’s spectacular collapse in the second innings that put India in the driver’s seat and all but ended its chances of retaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Steven Smith after being dismissed, in Dharamsala on Monday.

Graeme Hick was downcast as he walked into the media room at the end of third day’s play in the fourth and final Test against India here on Monday. Australia’s batting coach was aware of his team’s spectacular collapse in the second innings that put India in the driver’s seat and all but ended its chances of retaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

“I think our side has been guilty throughout the series. You know when you come here that there is a danger of losing wickets in clumps. I wouldn’t be critical of guys who, in a way, get out cheaply. I think if I look back over this game and one or two others in the series, I will say we missed our opportunities and left some runs out there in the first innings,” he admitted, while also conceding that the game was all but over.

“There is pin drop silence in the Australian dressing room. It’s been a very disappointing day. The boys are pretty down but they will give it a good crack in the morning,” he said when asked whether Australia still had a chance in the series that is level 1-1 at the moment.

The Australians went from a comfortable 130/1 to all out for 300 on the first day and were wrapped up for just 137 in the second innings, leaving just 106 runs for India to score over the next two days. And while captain Steve Smith had a rare off day in the office, David Warner’s horror run with the bat continued, scoring just 6.

“Obviously David will be very disappointed. He is a very aggressive player. I think he was desperate to have a very big influence here. Whether he put himself under a bit of pressure, only he can answer that. He will reflect on it and assess it himself. Without doubt, he is one of our major players and you would have hoped for a little bit more from him” Hick agreed.

While admitting that the Australians did not bat well, Hick also credited the Indian bowlers for their performance. “I think the skipper’s dismissal was a bit unfortunate, but I think Umesh Yadav bowled really well. It was tough up front, Jadeja bowling into the rough, Ashwin bowled really well at him, certainly questioned him. As I said, we didn’t just put the pegs in the ground and swallow up the pressure. The momentum just kept going with India who played very good cricket,” he said.