Australian paceman Josh Hazlewood feels that had they bowled the last four overs in the Boxing Day Test against India, a win for the home side would have been possible at MCG.
Hazlewood did not question Smith's decision to agree for a draw but felt that had they got one more wicket, it would have put India's tail under pressure.
"It obviously got right down to the wire, but if we needed to bowl those last four overs, we would have bowled them and if we'd got that one more wicket we know what their last three batsmen are like," Hazlewood was quoted as saying by the Daily Telegraph.
"That was always in the back of our mind, just get that last wicket to really crack them open and then you don't know what can happen."
However he added that the wicket was not offering too much spin or pace.
"They'd shut up shop and were looking pretty solid. We gave it a good crack but didn't quite get there," he said.
India needed to win the Melbourne Test to keep alive the series but a draw meant Australia keep the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with the Sydney Test to go.
Image: Australia pacer Josh Hazlewood
Photograph: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images