PERTH, JANUARY 30: The Indian players could at least walk off the ground for the last time on this tour with their heads held high, having fought tooth and nail to hold Australia off and only losing the battle in the final over. This effort showed the type of grit and determination that all too often has been missing in Australia and it will have captain Sachin Tendulkar shaking his head and asking why it was so long in coming.To cap a forgettable tour Tendulkar was bowled for three. As always it took a good delivery to erase the little maestro, but on this tour the problem for Tendulkar has been the flimsy support he's had from his fellow batsmen, which has allowed the Australians to concentrate all their efforts on India's best. This has generally meant Tendulkar receiving a number of good deliveries and when he's isolated, as he's been on this tour, he must feel like a target in the sniper's sights.At the toss Tendulkar said, ``India has to look at domestic cricket and try to make improvements.''This is obviously true, but the current dearth of talent in the National team suggests that it's not the only problem, so the officials need to listen to the captain and come up with an honest attempt to ensure Indian cricket teams are more competitive away from home.With Tendulkar gone, Rahul Dravid and Hrishikesh Kanitkar came together and they started to play in a positive fashion after a slow start. Kanitkar has shown some promise on the tour, particularly when facing Shane Warne. He has used his feet confidently and been prepared to loft the leg-spinner down the ground, but after doing this twice he chipped a ball in the air toward mid-wicket where Ricky Ponting took a good diving catch. This has been Kanitkar's failing: he has flattered to deceive by making useful scores, without ever going on to produce something substantial. Even one big score would've helped his cause at the selection table, but now he returns home an unsuccessful batsman in a disappointing side and that spells danger.Dravidhas shown himself to be a battler under all circumstances, but once again his scoring stopped dead after a flurry of boundaries and when this happens the end comes swiftly. His exit appeared to leave Robin Singh to fight a lone hand, but he got surprising support from Samir Dighe, who produced his best form of the series with some deft placements and the occasional aggressive outburst.Following a miserly start by Glenn McGrath and Damien Fleming it looked like India would struggle to post a decent total, but it ended up being competitive.Where the Australian opening bowlers were accurate, Javagal Srinath and the luckless Ajit Agarkar started in wayward fashion. Mark Waugh was the main beneficiary, while his partner Adam Gilchrist appeared listless, probably suffering after keeping fifty overs in extreme heat. Mark Waugh was eventually out to Sunil Joshi who continued to bowl well, flighting the ball while bowling down wind in an effort to show the tour selectors they'd been wrong to ignore histalent.Michael Bevan tried to collar the left-armer and did so on a couple of occasions, but he was less comfortable against Srinath, who pinned him with a short-pitched delivery. Bevan continues to be amazingly consistent in One Day cricket whilst looking distinctly uncomfortable on occasions and in full control the rest of the time. He appeared to be guiding Australia safely to victory until Singh produced a spell that was every bit as determined as his earlier innings, ripping out Bevan then Steve Waugh's stumps to make the finish close. In the end it was Warne's flair with the bat and Damien Martyn's cool head that saw Australia home. But India had pushed their more fancied opponents, despite the fact that injuries had robbed them of two star players.All that remains for India is the recriminations and the inquiry. It is to be hoped that the officials listen to Tendulkar and the other wise heads with some ideas, because India should be a better team than they showed inAustralia.SCOREBOARDIndiaVVS Laxman c Warne b Brett Lee 3S Tendulkar b Fleming 3R Dravid c M. Waugh b S. Lee 65H Kanitkar c Ponting b Martyn 30D Gandhi c Martyn b Warne 13R Singh c M. Waugh b McGrath 45S Dighe (not out) 36S Joshi (not out) 2Extras: (lb-14, w-7, nb-8) 29Total (six wkts, 50 overs) 226Fall of wickets: 1-11, 2-11, 3-92, 4-113, 5-145, 6-218Bowling: McGrath 9-3-22-1, Fleming 8-2-37-1, Brett Lee 7-0-22-1, Shane Lee 8-0-38-1, Martyn 5-0-19-1, Warne 9-0-57-1, Steve Waugh 4-0-17-0AustraliaM Waugh c Dighe b Joshi 40A. Gilchrist c Robin b Agarkar 6R Ponting c Agarkar b Joshi 33M Bevan c Tendulkar b Singh 71S Waugh b Singh 19D Martyn (not out) 19S. Lee (run out) 2S Warne (not out) 16Extras: (lb-7, w-9, nb-8) 24Total (6wkts, 49.3 overs) 230Fall of wickets: 1-39, 2-78, 3-136, 4-190, 5-201, 6-205Bowling: Srinath 10-0-55-0,Agarkar 10-1-39-1, Prasad 9.3-0-59-0, Joshi 10-1-33-2, Singh 10-1-37-2.Result: Australia won by four wickets
