team win

Indian captain Anil Kumble praised the character of his players after they beat Australia by 72 runs in the third Test in Perth to keep the series alive at 2-1. Victory was assured on day four of the match with Australia bowled out for 340 after they had been set a target of 413 to win. It was their first Test loss for nearly 30 months and a first at home for nearly four years. A delighted Kumble told a press conference after the match: "We had our moments in Melbourne and Sydney but I'm really happy that we could grab those opportunities here in Perth. "We were 2-0 down and we knew could lose the series here if we didn't play really well so it was important that we came back and we've done that." He also paid tribute to the way in which his players had moved on from the controversy that surrounded the series in the wake of Australia's last-gasp win in Sydney. Harbhajan Singh was subsequently banned for racially abusing Andrew Symonds and the Indian board threatened to cancel the tour. "I don't think there was any kind of revenge or ill-feeling but it was important that we rallied around ourselves," he said. "We all sat down and discussed how we were going to go forward. That's when we decided we'd concentrate on cricket and leave the rest of the matters to whoever needs to handle it. "It was important we focussed all our efforts on playing cricket. I'm really glad everyone responded and stepped up to the plate." Kumble said that the win ranked as one of India's greatest achievements on a cricket field. "Considering the fact that no visiting team gets any sort of chance coming into Perth and being 2-0 down, it was a great effort and a brilliant victory," he said. "If you look back at whatever victories I've been involved in both at home and away this will probably rank as one of the best. "We came here to win the series, to play good cricket and show that the Indian team is a good test cricket unit and I'm really happy that we've been able to do that. "Even in Sydney we did that but unfortunately we didn't get the result there and we've showed that, in what is regarded as probably the home turf for Australia, that we've been able to beat them here so it's very special. "Now we have to take this confidence to Adelaide and try and level the series."