One of the best wins of my career: Kumble

“We had tough times. After Sydney, it was important that we got together, back Harbhajan (Singh) and win this game.

“After Sydney there were two options. One was to go back home and the other was to show that we are capable of winning. I am glad the team has got together to prove that (beating Australia),” he said.

Kumble said unlike the Sydney match both the sides played the third Test in true spirit of the game but India dominated the Australians.

“The two teams played in right spirit. But here we did well and if see we did not give one session to the Aussies to come back,” he said.

The Indian captain said his team was focused to win the fourth and final Test as well and draw the series.

“We need to get the confidence from this match to Adelaide and finish the series level but the Aussies would not give up,” he said.

Comparing rookie pacer Ishant Sharma to former pace ace Javagal Srinath, Kumble said the young speedster notched up a superb performance.

“He was brilliant. He looks like what Srinath was in his early days. He showed a great attitude.”

About Sharma’s extended spell, which earned the crucial wicket of Australian captain Ricky Ponting, Kumble said, “Viru (Sehwag) is the Delhi captain. So he told me that Ishant is used to bowl longer spells. I asked Ishant if he can bowl one more over and he said yes. Since Ricky was there it was important.”

Kumble also singled out Sehwag (2-24), who he brought in as a change bowler, for his outstanding performance causing the Australian collapse.

“Sehwag does something special. It was special to get Gilly (Adam Gilchrist) at that stage,” he said and added “in fact, everyone chipped in to contribute to the win in some way or the other.”

The 37-year-old leg spinner, who also achieved his personal milestone of crossing the 600-wicket mark here, gave credit to his team for ulitising the conditions here better than the hosts.

“It was a brilliant effort from our boys. It is really special. No one gave us a chance before the match but we utilised the conditions better.

“It was a brilliant effort from young pace attack, it also showed in their body language.”

Rival captain Ricky Ponting tried to be graceful in the defeat by expressing the disappointment but offering no excuses for their below-par show.

“It is disappointing but no excuses for the defeat,” Ponting said after Australian team was deprived of a record 17th successive Test win by the Indians.

Ponting, however, admitted that his team needed some bigger partnerships and more runs in the first innings which could have made their run-chase easier.

“We could have scored better in the first innings and we also needed some good partnerships. It would have helped our cause in the run-chase. But India’s young bowlers really bowled well because of which it was not possible,” he said.

Man-of-the-match paceman Irfan Pathan, who picked 3-54 in the fourth innings and also contributed 46 runs with the bat in India’s second innings, said things were looking better for him from here.

“It’s pretty good. I’m pretty happy with the way I batted and the way I bowled,” he said.

He admitted that he was not bowling well last year but the return of swing in his deliveries had again made him effective.

“If a player has a stint of 10-12 years, bad times are bound to happen and that happened with me also. I worked at the MRF Pace Foundation and with our bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad. Things are looking much better for me now,” he said.

On his all round performance, he insisted, “I have mentioned that I am a bowler first and would also like to contribute to the team with the bat”.