Hyderabad, Nov. 6: Despite being hit by injuries to key players, Ricky Ponting’s Australians held their nerve to edge past India by three runs on Thursday for a 3-2 lead in the seven-match series on a day Sachin Tendulkar almost won the game for his side.

Speaking after the win, Ponting appeared relieved that his team held their nerve to snatch a win. "It is a great win for the boys and I am really happy to see some of the young guys doing well. It’s a really good sign for the team," Ponting said.

Asked how his team has fought back after being 1-2 down in the series, the Australia skipper said, "It’s remarkable considering the number of players we have had injured on this tour and we had a couple of our better players who didn’t make the tour. When you take all those things into consideration, the way we are continuing to improve our cricket is fantastic."

The Aussie veteran applauded Sachin’s stupendous knock.

"Sachin played beautifully. It was a terrific innings, especially when he lost a few wickets around him early. It was one of the best knocks I’ve ever seen," Ponting said.

"When you get 175 in a one-day game, it’s not very often you don’t win. We just had to keep hanging in there and I kept telling the bowlers to stick to their plans and to execute them well," Ponting said.

"It just takes one false shot and you are back in the game, but Sachin didn’t play too many false ones. I thought we batted well too and Shaun Marsh and Watson were terrific for us at the top of the order," he added.

Asked what he had told his boys prior to the game, Ponting said, "I actually asked the guys for a little bit extra in this game, asked them to be really brave and to play the best form of cricket they possibly could and just back themselves at every opportunity.

"It was a great day for us. I can tell you that the guys were as excited as we have been for any win that we’ve had," Ponting said.

The teams left on Friday for Guwahati where they play the sixth one-dayer on November 8.