Relieved after the series-levelling 24-run win, Australia captain Ricky Ponting said he was afraid that 250-run may not be enough but his bowlers made it possible.
"It was a good win but I thought we left out some 30-40 runs. We lost wickets at crucial moments which causes to lose momentum and 250 seemed a little short. But our bowlers did a great job," a beaming Ponting said after the win over India.
Heaping praise on left-arm pacer Doug Bollinger, who took three wickets, Ponting said, "He showed his wicket-taking ability today. Everytime I pressed him into action, he did well. He and Shane (Watson), along with (Nathan) Hauritz did well and the whole bowling unit did a great job. The dew made it harder but we stuck to our job."
Ponting was particularly happy that his bowlers have not allowed the Indian opening pair of Viernder Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar to score big knocks.
"We have done reasonably well (in that aspect). Sehwag got off to a flier but we kept Sachin under check. Peter Siddle has done a wonderful job in the entire series so far, not conceding more than three runs and we have done well against most of their batters," he said.
Ponting also dismissed the suggestion that Sachin Tendulkar's dismissal, a terrible LBW judgement by umpire Ashoka de Silva, was the turning point of the match.
"I don't think Sachin was taking the match away from us. He was scoring nicely but he was not dominating us as such. He's more of a run-accumulator these days I guess," he said.
Ponting seemed more impressed by Harbhajan's batting ability and described him as a dangerman in the powerplays.
"Tailenders play freely in the powerplays since they have nothing to lose. Harbhajan is a dangerous player in powerplays because he hits in unusual areas on both sides of the wicket," Ponting said.
Even though the team has lost a number of frontline players to injury, Ponting said the team was getting some balance now.
"With Shaun (Marsh) at the top and I'm back at number three, the balance may not be perfect but considering the trouble we have had, it's never easy. But at the same time, it shows our fighting ability," Ponting said.
"As a leader, I'm very satisfied to see the guys bouncing back," he added.
On losing toss, Ponting said," I wanted to bat first, so it did not matter. I knew there would be some seam movement early on but once we see through that period, it would become flatter. I always prefer to set a good total and put pressure on the opposition." PTI
