"The run out (of Sourav Ganguly) and the first ball dismissal of (Rahul) Dravid put India on the back foot. We put India under pressure from the first ball," said Ponting. Ponting said if India had put up a good total it would have been a difficult one to chase with the pitch aiding spinners. "It was wicket where the ball was spinning. A good total would have been difficult to chase," he said.

The Australian captain said that his team had bounced back extremely well after the loss at Chandigarh and said this was due to the preparations they did for the tie. "Our preparations for this match was good. We had separate meetings with the bowlers and batsmen and then a common team meeting where we discussed the areas we had gone wrong in the previous game. We gave away too many extras," he said.

Ponting also hoped his team would keep improving in the rest of the series in which two matches are left to be played at Nagpur (Oct 14) and Mumbai (Oct 17). "We started well in Bangalore and had a slip-up in game four. I hope we keep improving," he said. Ponting also praised Sachin Tendulkar's batting today. "Sachin batted very well. He drove beautifully (in his innings of 47), and some of his drives against Brett Lee were as good as any," he said.

Australia's bowling hero and man of the match, left-arm swing bowler Mitchell Johnson, said his ten-day visit to the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai earlier has helped him a lot in the series. "I had a good ten-day stay at the MRF Pace Foundation. It has helped me a lot," said the 25-year-old Queenslander who idolises compatriots Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee and also looks up to bowling coach Troy Coolie and pace guru Dennis Lillee for their mentoring roles. (Agencies)