By IANS,
Mohali (Punjab) : Fresh from a crushing 320-run loss inflicted on Australia by India at the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) stadium here Tuesday, captain Ricky Ponting said that his side was not accustomed to be trailing.
“We are not accustomed to being behind in the series,” Ponting told reporters here after the match to make his anguish over the loss clear.
He said that the Indians had a great game in Mohali by being aggressive and remaining so throughout.
“We as a team will discuss things on what went wrong and what we need to do. We will try to turn things around. A lot of our players have learnt a lot of things from the last (Mohali) game,” Ponting said.
Giving full credit to the Indian side for their thumping victory after dominating the Australians on all five days of the match, Ponting said: “Our players did not achieve what they set out to achieve. I am sure that they will find a way in the remainder of the series.”
The Australian captain said that India outplayed them in “batting, bowling and fielding”. “We were always under pressure and really could not come out of it.”
Amid reports of his spat with fast bowler Brett Lee which led to Lee not getting to bowl Monday morning during the Indian second innings, Ponting tried to clear the air.
“I want to clarify on this. People are making more out of this. Brett had wanted to bowl when the ball was older. He got to bowl after lunch though I didn’t tell him that,” he said.
Ponting said that stand-in Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni led from the front to help his side win. “He made very useful knocks. He did everything that was needed in the game.”
About the on-field spats between players from both sides and the Zaheer Khan-Mathew Hayden row, Ponting tried to downplay the incidents. “Some chit-chat is ok provided players don’t cross the line. The rest is up to the umpires and the match referee to decide.”
But he hastened to add: “When you are dominating the game, you have better presence and body language.”