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India skipper Rahul Dravid refused to pick on individuals for the numbing defeat to Australia but said it was for the players themselves to think about it and set things right before the Champions Trophy.

Describing the overall performance of the team as "very hard to stomach", Dravid said batting is something that needs to be worked on, as a target of 213 was something the team should have achieved.

"We lost with the bat today. We should have been able to get to 213. But we did not string enough partnerships; we needed another batsman in the top order to get a 50," he said, after the 18-run loss to Australia that put India out of the DLF Cup tri-series.

Australia will meet the West Indies in the final on Sunday.

"Except for the first match we did not bat well. We will have to individually and collectively think about it.

"I should have also done a lot better in the tournament. The results could have been better if I had batted well. I am not going to pick on individuals but they themselves will have to introspect," Dravid said.

He admitted that the defeat hurt, especially after a good bowling performance.

"Today's performance was hard to stomach. It is something we will have to better," he added.

Dravid, however, did not think that poor strategy cost India the match.

"You need to bat well. I don't think we are losing games because of poor strategy. If you are asked to chase 213 on a pretty good wicket, you need batsmen to score and get good partnerships. We have to look into how to improve our batting."

Asked about Virender Sehwag being sent in to open the innings again, he said, "We had thought we will try something different. We went threadbare over the games we have played (over the last few months) and after all that we went back to the tried and tested order of Sachin [Tendulkar] and Sehwag."

Dravid said the late order batsmen could not be blamed for the defeat.

"The instruction given to the last batsman was not to lose his wicket, bat out the overs and ensure [Dinesh] Mongia gets maximum strike. But nobody can be blamed in situations like this," he said, adding Mongia did an "excellent" job in the circumstances.

"Dinesh batted really well, but did not get enough support till the end. He has come to bat, field and bowl after a gap and has really proved to be good."

Dravid said it was imperative that the team sets things right in time for the Champions Trophy, which India will host in October-November.

"We have to look into positives and also the poor batting. It will be a matter of time before we start firing again, but we have some work to do.

"We will focus on our good bowling; we hope to repeat it in Champions Trophy. We will also focus on strengthening the fielding; we have really tried hard to improve it and seen the improvement."

Australia skipper Ricky Ponting said his team started sniffing victory when India lost their first four wickets.

"We did not play well today but still we won. We are pretty proud of what we did today.

"When we got four wickets, we knew we just had to take a couple more, we smelt victory then," he said.

"It was a really good tussle right to the end. Australia usually wins these kind of matches."

Man of the match Brett Lee said it was great to bowl alongside Glenn McGrath again.

"I am very happy with the way I bowled today. It was great having McGrath back. He is a world-class bowler.

"We have a long summer ahead, I am looking forward to bowling with him."