It is not often that one finds Australia on the backfoot. It is not often that you witness the world's best team failing in all departments of the game. And it is not often that an Australian coach is left to face a barrage of questions and do a lot of explanation defending his team, something he would rather have avoided.
Tim Nielsen faced a similar unpleasant situation at the end of the fourth day in the Mohali Test on Monday, something his predecessor had avoided quite regularly. With Australia staring at defeat, there was little he could do to appease a horde of scribes demanding an explanation. To his credit, he put up a brave face throughout the ordeal.
"We had a very poor day today," he admitted, and, guessing that few were satisfied with the response, went on to elaborate.
"I think when you have a day like this people start looking for reasons and making out theories to explain them. But it is nothing to be worried about."
Australia's coach also did not admit that his team had failed to come back with a back-up plan once their initial plan of action failed to materialize.
"It is not about plan A or plan B, but about executing skills on the pitch," he reasoned. "We played to a plan in Bangalore but still failed to win the Test."
Nielsen did, however, admit that his bowlers failed to deliver vis-à-vis their Indian counterparts.
"The Indian bowlers, I agree, have bowled well," he admitted. "Our bowlers have done well in patches but failed to put pressure on India over extended periods. We have failed to confirm our positions after good starts."
He also moaned the lack of a quality spinner.
"The absence of Bryce (McGain) hurt us. In that scenario it was always crucial for us to get out best four bowlers forward for each match. The same has been the case with our batting too.
"But we are working hard to correct our shortcomings," he said, before confessing, "it is difficult to defend when the opposition is playing so well."
