India played meaner, tougher cricket

The simplest thing Ricky Ponting could have done to revive his side’s fortunes was to change his call to heads. He didn’t, and Australia lost three straight tosses — not all-determining, but serious concessions in these conditions. It wasn’t a coincidence that the only Test Australia dominated was when Ponting got lucky. Champion teams often take the toss and the conditions out of the equation, so flexible and varied are their cutting edges, but thi s Australian side, considerably less formidable than its predecessors, suffered. The batsmen were denied access to the best batting conditions; the bowlers, forced to go first when the surfaces were less abrasive, were often deprived of reverse swing.