'That was a fantastic win' - Ponting

Australia's steely resolve enabled them to win a crucial encounter at Colombo, and wrap up the five-match one-day series. Ricky Ponting was understandably elated after the match, saying, "That was a fantastic win."

Ponting said that his team's triumph was built on the ability to "hang in" for as long as possible. "We had things going our way half-way through our batting innings, but things change around pretty quickly over here. At one stage, we were looking at about 260 ... and ended up about 30 short. Then we were behind the eight-ball early with the ball.

"But as I said to the guys out on the ground, the side that hangs in there the longest in this game will probably win."

Michael Kasprowicz was the declared the Man of the Match, and he said that the win came thanks to the unity within the side, and a defiance in the face of foreign conditions. "You can feel the emotion in the team that comes from achieving something special," he said. "Playing in Australia, you know the conditions, but to come over here and play on turning wickets against unfamiliar spinners on lightning quick outfields - everything's just so different - and I think that's the challenge."

When asked about his bowling, Kasprowicz said, "I've definitely bowled better in domestic cricket, but never better for Australia."

Adam Gilchrist took six catches in the match, thereby equalling his own world record. Afterwards, Ponting said: "I know he was very happy with that. Equalling the world record in one-day cricket doesn't happen every day."

He added that he wasn't too concerned about Gilchrist's barren run with the bat, and warned, "Gilly's still batting well, there's no doubt about that. He probably hasn't scored as many as he would have liked in the last couple of games. But don't worry, he'll play well in the Tests."

Australia will probably rest a number of key players for the final match of the series tomorrow, with Gilchrist, Jason Gillespie and Ponting or Matthew Hayden the likely candidates to make way for Brad Haddin, Brad Williams and Simon Katich.

Ponting confirmed this when he said, "Obviously we've got a few guys in the shed that haven't played any cricket at all and a few that have only played a couple of games. We want to try and give most guys a bit of cricket."