Ponting rubs it in: Target was chaseable

Vadodara: Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting said although the game went to the wire, he was happy to start the series on a winning note.

"Yes, it was a pretty good performance but for the last 6-7 overs. We did a good job batting first but 290 was chaseable in such conditions. The wicket really held up well," Ponting said after the match.

"But we started well with the ball, had them under pressure and we were just good enough to cross the hurdle," Ponting said.

"The Indians are always known for their fighting spirit. The fought till the last ball and Harbhajan was terrific with the bat. Overall, it was a good game of cricket," he said.

The Aussie skipper also lauded his top-order batsmen for setting the platform for the victory.

"Initially, the ball swung a bit but it was a nice toss to win. The top order did a great job today even though they could not manage to score big runs," he said.

Asked what was his message to Peter Siddle as he gave him the ball with India needing nine runs off the last over, Ponting said, "I just told him to be calm. I told him not to get confused what to do and just go there execute his plans and he really did a great job at the end."

Man-of-the-match Michael Hussey said partnerships from the top-order made it easy for him to open up at the later stages of Australia's innings.

"It was good fun. I really enjoyed the partnership with Cameron White in particular. I think we had some good partnerships. Tim Paine and Ricky got us to a good start, so we could afford to relax in the middle period," said Hussey, who made 73 of just 54 balls.

"We were not really looking for any specific target but obviously we wanted to get as many as we could," he said.