'We were outplayed' - Ponting

Ricky Ponting accepted that India were the better team in the match but was confident Australia would bounce back in the next Test in Delhi

Cricinfo staff
21-Oct-2008

It wasn't a Test to remember for Ricky Ponting © Getty Images
 
Mahendra Singh Dhoni said he had never seen Australia outplayed as much as they were during India's convincing 320-run victory in the second Test. Dhoni, who replaced Anil Kumble as captain on the first morning, watched his side outperform and outmanoeuvre the tourists throughout all five days of the game.
"I've never seen anything like that," Dhoni said when asked about Australia's display. "Especially at one time in the first innings, they were 22 from 13 overs. I said to Rahul Dravid, look at the board, we won't see that again."
It got worse for Australia in the second innings when they were reduced to 58 for 5 on the way to being dismissed for 195. When Australia captain Ricky Ponting was asked whether it was his worst game in charge he said "yeah, possibly".
"We weren't good enough in any aspect of this game - fast bowling, spin bowling, batting and, at times, our fielding was a bit sloppy, so we've been outplayed," he said. "Sometimes as a captain and player you have to accept that and say they were better than us this week. We were better than them last week, but that's irrelevant now and they're 1-0 up going into the next Test."
Dhoni expected Australia to fight back over the rest of the four-match series. "They are a strong side, it's just that we are doing our job in a brilliant way," he said. "They have had a few bad games, but that doesn't mean they have lost it. They are still the No. 1 team and still have the talent."
Ponting said he would hold a meeting to discuss how to fix the problems for the third Test in Delhi, starting on October 29, when the players return from a three-day break. "What I want to do is get the boys away from cricket for a few days," he said. "Back-to-back Tests are always hard work.
"We want to clear our minds from what's happened here, individually go back and think about what we did and didn't do, then when we get back as a group have a good open discussion about what we want to achieve for the remainder of the series."
Ponting said the team would be able to recover from the heavy defeat. "I've got total confidence in our group, with the experience and talent, that we can turn things around pretty quickly," he said.