Player of the Match
Player of the Match

India thoroughly deserved their win through Tendulkar's excellent century, his 42nd ODI ton, and eighth against Australia, but the first against them in their country.

Here's Ponting. "We were probably 20 or 30 runs short. The wicket held together really well. Another sloppy performance, not only from our batters but I thought our bowlers bowled as badly as they have all series. A good batting effort from Sachin, though.

On to Brisbane where "it's just about getting our heads right, a couple of the guys are disappointed with the way they got out."

Now here's Dhoni. "It was a good track to bat on. We got the wickets, that really put the brakes on the Aussie innings in the middle overs. The wicket was very exploited by Harbhajan and Piyush Chawla."

Ishant has done something to his blood vessel, he says, so there will be an update soon on that.

"It's always a pleasure to see him bat the way he batted," he says of guess who, yes Tendulkar. "He was batting well, running well, he carries the youngsters. If he is there in the middle then you won't have too much of trouble chasing whatever you're chasing. The whole team enjoyed the innings, but it's important to keep in mind too that games are yet to come."

Here's the Man of the Match, Tendulkar. "It was a terrific effort by the whole team. Rohit Sharma really batted well, full credit to him. He has a terrific head on his shoulders, he's calm and composed, and today I batted with him for the first time for such a long time.

"It was important today that the second half of the game we played well and that's what we did." He's got a groin strain. "The niggle has been there for a while. It's wonderful that I'm still able to get out in the middle and score some runs." Indeed it is.

So then, will you be joining us again on Tuesday for the second final, when a win for India will give them a series? Or will Australia bounce back? Come back then to find out, but in the meantime thanks for joining me today.

45.5
4
Hopes to Dhoni, FOUR, short ball, hooked round into the gap through square and that's a well-won victory for India
45.4
0
Hopes to Dhoni, no run, left alone outside off this time
45.3
0
Hopes to Dhoni, no run, outside off, flashed a drive, a play and a miss
45.2
1
Hopes to Tendulkar, 1 run, outside off, cut down to third man this time
45.1
1
Hopes to Dhoni, 1 run, short ball outside off, cut to the deep cover region

END OF OVER:
45 | 12 Runs | IND: 236/4 (4 runs required from 30 balls, RR: 5.24, RRR: 0.80)

  • Sachin Tendulkar116 (119b)
  • MS Dhoni10 (8b)
  • Mitchell Johnson10-0-70-0
  • James Hopes8-0-36-2
44.6
2
Johnson to Tendulkar, 2 runs, driven out on the back foot through backward point
44.5
0
Johnson to Tendulkar, no run, slower ball up there on off, pushed back out to Johnson
44.4
1
Johnson to Dhoni, 1 run, on leg, turned round to fine leg and they run through
44.3
4
Johnson to Dhoni, FOUR, a big full toss outside off, and cut hard again through the covers and the India fans are going crazy
  • No action against Harbhajan over crowd complaints

    Harbhajan Singh, who was alleged to have gestured and spat at a section of the Sydney crowd yesterday, will not be in the dock after match referee Jeff Crowe viewed all the evidence on the incident, and subsequently felt there was no need for action again

  • A classic catch on 'Boxing Day'

    Nagraj Gollapudi presents the plays of the days from the first final of the CB Series

  • Perfect innings in the perfect chase

    On Sunday, Sachin Tendulkar played the perfect innings in the perfect chase, when it mattered most

  • Fatally flabby in the middle

    The below-par batting returns for Australia can no longer be explained away as a one-off

  • Ponting demands better performance

    Ricky Ponting gave his team a "kick in the backside" during a team meeting after the six-wicket loss in the first final and asked the players to pinpoint areas to improve for Tuesday's sudden death encounter at the Gabba

India 2nd innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st50SR TendulkarRV Uthappa
2nd6SR TendulkarG Gambhir
3rd31SR TendulkarYuvraj Singh
4th123SR TendulkarRG Sharma
5th32SR TendulkarMS Dhoni

Australian Tri Series (CB Series)

TeamMWLPTNRR
AUS852260.769
IND833170.121
SL82510-0.949