We gave away too many runs, says Ashwin

SYDNEY: Will the SCG break the trend of flat, unvarying pitches in this series and play a significant role on the final day? The flavor has been distinctly subcontinental in Australia as Adelaide and Melbourne's drop-in pitches led to a run glut.
Even the Gabba wasn't its usual bouncy self. Here at the SCG, probably the flattest of the pitches on offer, a scalding sun has peeled away the sluggish exterior to awake some demons.
There was a hint of things to come when Ashwin and Bhuvneshwar were batting in the morning, but it was the Australian batsmen who parried some real terrors and negated the threat by flinging their bats around.
That India didn't have a second specialist spinner meant the pressure couldn't be sustained from both ends, and eventually even Ashwin started leaking runs.
With Australia's off-spinner Nathan Lyon being the highest wicket-taker in the series with 21 scalps, India have reasons to worry heading into the final day.
Even Joe Burns, whose bullying of India's bowlers made the pitch seem flat as pancake, acknowledged the SCG had metamorphosed into a difficult surface.
"It spun and will only get harder to bat. We all saw some variable bounce and reverse swing, but spin will play a major part," he said.
For large parts in this series, the bowlers have been second-class citizens. Teams have gone past 400 eight times in 14 innings. There are no previous instances of teams going past 400 in the first innings of each Test in a series.
Bowlers have conceded 100 runs or more 23 times, the most ever. Six batsmen have averaged above 50, with two of them - Smith and Kohli - averaging above 90.
Australia's two premier pacers, Mitchell Johnson and Ryan Harris, have been scathing in their criticism of the pitches, with Johnson even pulling out of this SCG Test.
Even with the help on offer on Friday, though, India couldn't capitalize to the extent they would have liked. "The way the ball was spinning, the way it was coming out of my hand, things could have been a lot different for us," said Ashwin, blaming the lack of support at the other end.
"We kept on leaking 15-16 runs from the other end. I thought this could be the chance where I could create something for the team. It's a wicket where if you apply yourself and bat, it's very difficult to get out. When you have to get 300-plus runs with the ball spinning the way it did, then we will see what Joe Burns can do." Ashwin, who got to the double of 1000 runs and 100 wickets in only 24 Tests, behind Ian Botham and Vinoo Mankad, feels India are still in the game.
"Fortunately or unfortunately the game is very well poised now. We are here to play positively. If presented with an opportunity to go for a win, we will try to go for it as sensibly as we can."