Australia skipper Ricky Ponting admitted umpiring blunders marred the second Test against India but hoped the match would be remembered for all the right reasons.
"I think it's fair to say that there were a few mistakes made but I am not going comment anything more as it might get me in trouble," the jubilant Australian skipper said after his team's record-equalling 16th straight Test win in Sydney.
"I hope this match is remembered for the cricket that was played. Yes, there were a few controversies by the side but the match itself was played in the right spirit and I hope it continues," he added.
Though laid low by a series of dubious decisions, India almost snatched a draw before part-time spinner Michael Clarke conjured up three wickets in five balls to guide the hosts to a thrilling 122-run triumph.
Ponting was at the centre of the contentious dismissal of Sourav Ganguly when umpire Mark Benson sought his word on whether the left-hander's catch had carried to Clarke at slips before ruling the batsman out.
"The umpire looked at me and asked whether that was out. I checked with Michael, who said it was absolutely clean and I gestured that to the umpire," he said.
Clarke apparently took the ball off the ground and the dismissal raised eyebrows as Benson turned to fielders, instead of checking with Steve Bucknor at square leg or the third umpire.
"Before the series started, me and Anil (Kumble) had a meeting with the Match Referee where we agreed to go with the fielder's word on close catches and that is exactly what happened in this case. If you remember, I had decided not to claim a catch earlier in the match when I wasn't sure about it being clean," he pointed out.
On the record-equalling win, Ponting said he never had it in his mind going into the final day's play.
"I wasn't even thinking about the 16th win. To get it is just amazing, especially after the position we were in on the first day of the match. Our recovery was remarkable," he said.
On handing the ball to part-time spinner Clarke, instead of a frontline bowler in the last couple of overs, Ponting
said, "He has done it before against India. And I thought tailenders would have it easy against pacers and he seemed like a good spin option as Brad Hogg wasn't getting the wickets," he said.
