The Australians make a happy bunch after winning the Champions Trophy for the first time on Sunday. Picture by Santosh Ghosh

Mumbai: Now, at least, Ricky Ponting won’t be reminded that the Champions Trophy has never been won by Australia. In fact, he can remind others that his team has become the first to simultaneously hold both the World Cup and the Champions Trophy.

Undefeated in finals for over seven years, Australia are taking home the 2006 edition after dethroning the West Indies. Brian Lara’s team did upset them in the first match, but on the big day (Sunday), Ponting and Co. responded with cold professionalism.

Despite losing the toss, mind you. And, having to resume the chase (pruned to 116 in 35 overs) after a rain-induced hold-up which lasted for hours. Allrounder Shane Watson, who remained unbeaten on 57 after taking two wickets in the opening session, was adjudged Man-of-the-Match.

Many felt Nathan Bracken, whose three for 22 broke the West Indies’ spine, deserved it more but he would’ve been the first to congratulate Watson. In Ponting’s opinion, “he (Bracken) was the difference” between the finalists.

“We’re desperate to win the Champions Trophy,” had been a common refrain among the Australians ever since the season began with the tri-series in Kuala Lumpur. In front of a handsome (and distinctly pro-West Indies) crowd at the CCI, the current masters gave the one-time invincibles a harsh lesson.

“It’s a very satisfying win and it’s no fluke that we’re better than the others... We’ve been working very hard... It has been a commanding victory... Big finals and big games bring the best out of us... It’s not easy winning a tournament in India, but we’ve been doing that,” is how Ponting summed up a terrific day-night show.

“You’ve probably heard it before, but the Australians’ self belief is amazing... After the flyer (courtesy Man-of-the-Tournament Chris Gayle and Shivnarine Chanderpaul), most teams would’ve put up their hands. Driven by self-belief, though, the Australians bowled out the West Indies for 138... It’s amazing,” former Pakistan captain Asif Iqbal, who watched quite a bit of the Champions Trophy, told The Telegraph.

“Perhaps, you could put it down to stage fright... The Australians played better cricket and they never say die... They know how to get out of tough situations... However, getting to the final shows we’re moving forward. Not many had expected us (to qualify) and get here... There will be hiccups,” is what Lara said.

He added: “We’ve got to get out of situations on big occasions when we falter... Even in the DLF Cup final (Kuala Lumpur), we’d failed to score 150... Today, 225 would’ve been competitive... I can’t say we played smart cricket, at least we didn’t bat smartly...”

That’s the understatement of the season as the West Indies’ innings lasted no more than 30.4 overs. Any team which bats so poorly, in a huge final, deserves to finish second-best.

Yet, Lara insisted the Australians weren’t unbeatable. “They’re ahead of us, but we’ve beaten them a couple of times this season... I wouldn’t say our batsmen crack under pressure, but we’ve got to face up to our collapses and be honest... We’d been confident about our ability to retain the Champions Trophy, but at the end, it’s a disappointing result.”

The one rather prominent silver lining, of course, is that the tournament’s highest scorer (Gayle, with three hundreds and a total of 474) and the No. 1 wicket-taker (Jerome Taylor, with 13 scalps), came from the West Indies.

“Yes, it was a dream Champions Trophy and the (MoT) award means a lot... It’s going to give me the impetus to grow in strength... I don’t get over-excited, though, and I’ve got to start from scratch in the next series (in Pakistan)... I’m thankful to my partner, Shiv, for all his support,” Gayle pointed out.

It wasn’t too long ago that the dashing opener had a heart problem. In recent times, however, he has been giving bowlers a heart attack. Besides, he has himself been getting wickets!