"What can you say of a wicket which lasted only two days," said Ponting after the 13-run defeat took some sheen off Australia's first series win on Indian soil in 35 years.

He condemned the pitch as unfit for Test cricket. "This was nowhere near a Test wicket.

"It's a disappointing end to a great series. Everyone knows what the wicket was like. It was disappointing for everyone, the players and the fans, that the match ended so fast."

The Test was played over less than 15 of the scheduled 30 hours.

Australia won 2-1 after taking the first and third Tests. The second was drawn.

After just 11 overs were bowled on the rain-ravaged opening day, 18 wickets fell on the second day and 20 on the third to end the match in quick time at the Wankhede Stadium.

"But one has to give India credit for performing better than us on this wicket.

"We will head home satisfied that we have finally won a Test series in India, but the disappointment of losing the last match will remain for some time.

"It's great to be tested in different conditions and we all know the ball turns in India. But there was very little batsmen could do on a track like this," Ponting said.

India crumbled for 104 in their first innings and managed 205 in their second while Australia scored 203 and 93, their lowest score ever in India, as off-spinner Harbhajan Singh grabbed his 14th five-wicket haul in his 39th Test.

Michael Clarke was Australia's unlikely bowling hero, using his occasional left-arm spin to take six wickets for nine runs to run through the Indian lower order.

"I don't need to say much about a track where someone like Clarke can take six wickets in no time," Ponting said.

Former Indian captain Polly Umrigar, who prepared the Wankhede Stadium strip, defended the work done by his groundstaff.

"I do not care what others say, my verdict is that the batsmen did not apply themselves," said Umrigar, a renowned Test batsman of the 1960s.

"The wicket was not as difficult as it is being made out to be. Batsmen willing to play shots got ample opportunities."

When India and Australia last played a Test at the Wankhede Stadium in 2001, the match also lasted three days. But it was the fast bowlers who did most of the damage in Australia's 10-wicket win.

Indian captain Rahul Dravid -- leading because of a groin strain to Sourav Ganguly -- agreed with his Australian counterpart but said it had still been a great match. And he hailed an "unbelievable" performance by his team.

"It was not a good series for us, but at least we salvaged something from it at the end.

"It makes me feel much better. Everyone contributed to the win.

"The spinners did their job well, but I think it was the 91-run stand between Sachin (Tendulkar) and (Venkatsai) Laxman in the second innings that gave us something to defend.

"We would have liked 150 but the way the guys bowled, fielded and took the catches was absolutely brilliant."

"We've lost the series but we can take a lot of heart from this," said Dravid.

"The Australians were deserving winners of the series. They pretty much outplayed us.

"It was nice for us to come here and win this Test match. It was an interesting wicket to play on, but we competed well after we didn't in Nagpur," Dravid added.

"I was looking at a target of around 150, but 107 proved enough in the end because Harbhajan Singh and Murali Kartik bowled so well."

Off-spinner Harbhajan finished with 5-29 to take his tally in six home Tests against the Australians to a staggering 53 wickets.

Left-armer Kartik was declared man-of-the-match for 4-44 in the first innings and 3-32 in the second.

Australia will leave for home later on Friday to prepare for the two-Test series against New Zealand starting in Brisbane on November 18.

India play a one-day international against arch-rivals Pakistan at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on November 13 before plunging into a two-Test home series against South Africa from November 20.