Nagpur, Oct 14: Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said losing wickets of Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly at crucial junctures resulted in the team's 18-run defeat against Australia in the sixth one-dayer here today. "We lost wickets at crucial times. First Sachin and then Sourav got out at crucial times. Also, their (Australia's) bowling at death made the difference today," Dhoni said after the visitors took an unassailable 4-1 lead. Dhoni also rued that his bowlers and batsmen failed to perform in tandem throughout the series.

"We did not bowl, bat and field well at the same time. Sometimes bowlers did well and sometimes batsmen. Except for the Chandigarh match, we did not click at the same time," he said. Austrain captain Ricky Ponting was delighted with the series triumph in the subcontinent. "It is a great win no doubt. We came here without playing much cricket. I think we were playing one-day cricket after a four-month gap. And it is not an easy place to win," he said. Ponting praised Andrew Symonds and Brad Hogg for their contribution to the team's victory.

"The way he plays is amazing. Getting these runs in the subcontinent is really good. Some of the striking was really good. Brad Hogg bowled exceptionally well. The wicket was good and outfield very fast so he did well in these conditions," he said. Man of the match Symonds said he looked to build partnerships to take his team to a big total. "Partnerships are the key to a big total. The idea was to stay for a long time and build partnerships," he said. (Agencies)