We're still pretty upbeat , says Waugh
Steve Waugh, the coolest one, was crest-fallen at the defeat - but not despondent. "Nobody died," said the Australian captain. "The sun will be up tomorrow, and we we'll be up."
"It's only a game. No-one's died. It's a game of cricket. We've lost it, and that' over. Now tomorrow morning the sun will be up, and we'll be up. No problems.
"Full credit to India. They played great cricket, and we were not good enough this afternoon. Our batting was pretty ordinary in the last couple of hours, and I guess that it proves that we're human and can lose.
"We've just go to look forward to the next Test match. We were outplayed in this one.
Last Test here? I think so. I don't even know when the next tour is. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and the result would have been nice the other way, but it was a great Test match.
"There is always a chance of a result in Test match cricket, particularly on the last day. It's not easy to bat. Pressure, big crowd, lots of noise…. We fancied our chances of surviving this afternoon, but really India always had a chance of pushing for victory.
"Our bowler had a tough match, but that's Test cricket. Three of the guys did not play in the last tour match and had a bit of time off. Obviously you like three days between Test matches, we've got only two. We've got to cope with that. And that's a good challenge for us.
"Till when did we think we had a chance? Hard to say. Once India got a 300-plus lead, I think we were always in the back seat. We probably were never going to get a victory from there. But we were pushing for victory, but could not get the back through.
"We're disappointed. But if you go to the dressing room now, it's pretty upbeat. I mean we're not downcast, sitting there and not talking. We realise we were outplayed by a very good innings, and life goes on. There is no point in crying over it, or over-analysing it. We'll be right tomorrow morning.
"Our 16 wins in a row is a great achievement. We saw in this match how hard it is to win a Test match, and we won 16 in a row. That will take some beating. I'm proud of the record, and proud of the guys who played in those 16 matches.
"We had been under plenty of pressure in those wins, if you look back and analyse those 16 wins. We've come through a lot of pressure situations, today we were not up to it. It's a great Test match, but if you lose, you're not going to rank it as one of your best Test matches. The Indian guys would say it was a great Test match, I'd say it was great cricket. But you could not complain about the standard of cricket played. There were ups and downs, and that's why it's a great game.
"We were 274 runs ahead, and India in the last nine innings hadn't scored a big total against us. With Tendulkar out, they still were over hundred runs behind. Everyone says we should not have forced the follow on… they should have told me so a couple of days ago!
"Pretty obviously, Laxman's was a great innings. Under pressure, not only for himself but for the team also. He came and backed himself, hit the ball cleanly and never really looked like getting out. So it is one of the great Test innings I've seen, and I'm sure not many people will have seen a better innings played.
"And Harbhajan bowled very well. We expected the wicket to play pretty well. Today there was a bit of turn, but we've got to expect that on the fifth day. It was a very good Test match wicket. "The guys have to look at their own games. It's not the end of the world. We've got to go out and practice hard and think about our games. Individually we have to work out our game-plan. Hard to say what was the turning point… There were 10 or 15 maybe. We had a turnaround with myself and Gillespie, and then India fought back superbly well. Dravid and Laxman, great Test match partnership. Harbhajan's bowling… Matthew Hayden's batting was great. It's not right to say there was one turning point. There were many turning points in the match."