Media praises 'ruthless' Australians

Australia's victory under stand-in captain Adam Gilchrist was a ruthless performance, the country's newspapers said on Saturday.

Australia's first series victory in India for 35 years was a ruthless performance, the country's newspapers said on Saturday.

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With captain Ricky Ponting missing the first three Tests of the four-match series because of injury, wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist led the tourists to an unbeatable 2-0 lead after Friday's 342-run victory at Nagpur in the third Test.

"It's a magnificent effort for them to be up for so long and to be winning series after series," former captain Bill Lawry, who captained Australia to a 3-1 series victory in India in 1969, said in Melbourne's Herald Sun.

Former Australia captain Steve Waugh, who retired in January having led his side to the top ranking in the game but failed to win in India, said the Australians had won the series by putting India's batsmen under "stifling pressure".

"The heavyweight battle turned into a lopsided contest as India's much revered batting order dissolved under Australia's stifling pressure," he wrote in a column for the Herald Sun.

"Quite simply, it didn't have the stomach for the battle."

The Herald Sun ran a main sports headline "Aussies conquer the final frontier", while The Age's front page headline was: "After 35 years, sweet taste of series victory."

Peter Roebuck wrote in The Age: "Every man played his part in the ruthless execution of an opponent weakened by injuries, poor selection and bad management, and unable to recapture the form of yesteryear."

Columnist Mike Coward said in The Australian the current side were among the sport's best teams.

"They have been the peerless team of the modern era, dominating the 1990s and 2000s as the West Indies did in the 1980s," Coward wrote.