India outplayed us throughout the series: Ponting

Nagpur, Nov 10 (UNI) Australian captain Ricky Ponting today admitted that the Indians outplayed his team throughout the series, which saw the Border-Gavaskar trophy slip out of their hands after a 2-0 drubbing by the hosts.

Speaking to the media after Australia had lost the fourth and final Test on the fifth afternoon, Ponting said his side probably lost the plot after the crushing defeat in the second Test at Mohali.

Australia dominated the first Test in Bangalore but India did manage to force a draw there before coming down hard on the visitors, crushing them by 320 runs in Mohali.

In Delhi, India almost buried the visitors under a run mountain before settling for a draw and finally wrapped up the four-match series 2-0 here today.

''I think the result tells the truth,'' said Ponting, adding, ''We played well in Bangalore but could not win the match and after the defeat in Mohali, we were basically chasing them. We missed an opportunity in Bangalore and India dominated the series after that,'' said a dejected Ponting.

Dwelling on the final Test, Ponting said Australia needed a flawless display to chase down the 382 runs it needed to win the Test and level the series.

''I told guys this morning that a win is possible only if we play perfect cricket throughout the day. But Indian pacers and spinners put lot of pressure on us and I guess we were out of the match right at lunch,'' he said.

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