By IANS
Vadodara : India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni accepted that except the toss everything else went wrong, as Australia won the fifth one-day international (ODI) by nine wickets and took an unassailable 3-1 lead in the seven-match Future Cup series here Thursday.
“Apart from the toss, everything went wrong for us. They (Australia) really batted well and bowled superbly,” said the Indian captain in the post-match press conference.
A brilliant spell of five for 26 by Mitchell Johnson scuttled the famed Indian batting line-up for a paltry 148 runs in just 39.4 overs. Australian vice-captain Adam Gilchrist, who was going through a rough patch, later joined the party as he hammered a blistering 79 not out off just 77 deliveries to guide the four-time World Cup champions home safely.
“The start they got was a killer blow. We need to forget this loss and move on for the next two games,” said Dhoni.
The loss doesn’t seem to worry the Indian captain and he kept laughing during the press briefing.
The Indian batting was pathetic, barring a fine 47 from Sachin Tendulkar, playing his 400th ODI. The Indian batsmen were found struggling with their footwork while Tendulkar’s innings was a great delight for the some 15,000 spectators at the Reliance Stadium here.
Tendulkar’s innings lasted 73 deliveries and was peppered with nine boundaries. He played several sublime strokes, caressing boundaries through the covers.
“Sachin seemed to be batting on a different wicket while we were batting on a different wicket,” commented Dhoni.
Australian captain Ricky Ponting also had words of praise for Indian maestro.
“He looked very good in the middle and some of his cover drives off Brett (Lee) were the best you could ever see,” said Ponting.
The Indian captain also said that conditions were tough for his boys but players don’t have an option.
“Playing continuously for four months is tough,” said Dhoni.
When asked about Rahul Dravid’s poor run of scores, Dhoni said: “No comments.”
For Australia, the fifth one-day international here was nothing less than a final and they rose to the occasion to steal a march over India.
“This is one of our best performances in the series. We outperformed them in all departments,” quipped Ponting, who had special words of praise for Johnson, who ripped apart the Indian batting.
“Johnson was simply superb. He tightened up the loose areas in the opening spell,” said Ponting.