Even Indian skipper MS Dhoni confessed that the Aussies bowlers read the pitch better, pitched the ball better, batted well and were spot-on with their field placements. But the new captain didn’t blame his first ODI loss to the Twenty20 hangover.

“How can you call this a reality check for us? What are we supposed to do? Stop playing? We gave our 100 per cent and lost to a better team,” he said.

Gilchrist seemed sick of repeated questions with Twenty20 overtones. “We have congratulated you for the win, enjoyed your celebrations. Now I think it is time to move on as this is a different ball game,” he said.

That was his way of saying ‘better get used to the Aussie domination’. He wasn’t giving those killer stares as he delivered the final punchline on a day that saw a highly competitive verbal war and a lopsided cricket contest. He didn’t need to, after the show on the field.

SCOREBOARD

Australia

A Gilchrist c Tendulkar b Zaheer 0

M Hayden b Pathan 75

B Hodge c Dhoni b Sreesanth 3

M Clarke st Dhoni b Pathan 27

A Symonds c & b Sreesanth 87

B Haddin not out 87

J Hopes c Dravid b Sreesanth 4

B Lee not out 2

Extras (b- 4, lb-2, w-15) 21

Total (6 wkts in 50 overs) 306

... contd.