Shud hav shown lil bit of character !!!

If this was a final, as Ricky Ponting wanted his side to view the fifth one-dayer in Vadodara, it was reminiscent of the hopelessly one-sided conclusion to the World Cup in 1999. Mahendra Singh Dhoni let out a big smile at the toss, with the crowd cheering as if the result was a foregone conclusion, but trudged away in the knowledge that his side could no longer win the series. Even drawing level from here will take some getting.

The distinctly brick-red surface, one that demanded application, was to leave India's batsmen ashen faced. A combination of injudicious shot-selection, accurate new-ball bowling, efficient left-arm pace and outstanding wicketkeeping is often a recipe for a lop-sided contest. It resulted in India's lowest home total against Australia. In fact the game was up much earlier; spectators leaving the ground after 25 overs of the game realised as much.