Melbourne: The Australian media didn’t waste the opportunity to rub salt into India’s wounds, hailing their cricket team for the ODI series win against India saying the series win has put to rest the debate of who the undisputed kings of the game are.

Australia won the sixth ODI in Guwahati on Sunday by a comfortable six-wicket margin and took an unassailable 4-2 lead in the seven match series. The Australian media lauded Ricky Ponting and his men for the way they have humiliated India despite being without their key players. The series win also meant that Australia consolidated their position at the top of the ODI rankings, which was under threat if India were to win the series.

“Courageous Australia remain cricket’s one-day kings after crushing upstart rivals India in a ruthless show of strength,” screamed a write-up in the Courier Mail. “India’s bold ambition to send Ricky Ponting’s men home without the number one ranking proved hollow with Australia’s six-wicket victory sealing the series and one-day bragging rights.”

Headlined ‘Jubilant Aussies take series over India’, Herald Sun newspaper said the series win by Ponting’s men would be even more devastating to the Indian psyche as it had come with a “virtual Australia-A side”.

“Dhoni’s side will be licking its wounds for a while after being bashed by a virtual Australia ‘A’ side, short of front-line names but big on heart,” it said.

“The loss of Brett Lee, Peter Siddle, Tim Paine, James Hopes and Moises Henriques only served to galvanise Ponting’s unit. Australia has depth in young talent who will not only hold the line as reinforcements but win battles of their own,” the article in the Herald Sun said. “Ponting’s injury-hit squad of ‘home brand’ warriors put India back in their box, dealing a huge psychological blow to their psyche.”

The Age lauded Ponting’s men for keeping Australia’s 13-year undefeated ODI series run in India intact. “Australia will fly out this week with both its number one ranking and 13-year unbeaten run in one-day series here intact, after taking an unassailable 4-2 lead over India,” the newspaper said. “Forty-five minutes of lethal new-ball bowling from Doug Bollinger and Mitchell Johnson paved the way for the six-wicket win at the Nehru Stadium at Guwahati.”

Tagged with: Australia, Brett Lee, Courier Mail, Doug Bollinger, Guwahati, Herald Sun, India, James Hopes, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Melbourne, Mitchell Johnson, Moises Henriques, Peter Siddle, Ricky Ponting, The Age, Tim Paine

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