Chasing an imposing 351 for win, India came close yet remained far from victory as they folded for 347 after Sachin Tendulkar's sublime 175 off 141 balls.

After Tendulkar's departure in the first ball of the 48th over, India required 19 runs from 17 balls but the remaining three batsmen succumbed to pressure and could manage only 15.

Dhoni said India matched the World Champion side as far as cricketing skills are concerned but the want of mental toughness in crunch moments did them in.

"We lost the mental aspect and not the cricketing part of the match. Chasing 350 was always going to be difficult even on this wicket which played very well," Dhoni said after India conceded a 2-3 lead in the seven-match series.

Dhoni also said had it not been for Tendulkar's amazing and strokeful knock, the hosts would have never come so close to victory.

"Three or four of our top batsmen did not score but still we came close to the target. Sachin Tendulkar played very well and he was one man who brought us close to a win. But even after he left we did not lose hopes till the end," said Dhoni about Tendulkar's fabulous knock which was studded with 19 fours and four sixes.

Dhoni said though Tendulkar produced yet another special innings but his personal favourite remains the 'Desert Storm' in Sharjah against the same opponents in April 1998.

"It was a pleasure to see him batting so well. All his centuries have been special and this too. But I am still a big fan of his desert storm (innings)," he said.

Dhoni felt that though the conditions were ideal for batting, his bowlers gave away 20-30 runs extra on the placid Rajiv Gandhi International stadium wicket.

"We always knew the wicket was going to play good but the pressure of chasing 350 was high. It would have been easier had our bowlers done something extra to restrict the score to 325 or 330. I am not saying they should have stopped them at 270," said the wicketkeeper batsman, who had a poor outing with both the bat and behind the wicket.

Dhoni insisted that his side would be under no extra pressure in the next game at Guwahati on Sunday.

"Every game is a pressure game. There will always be pressure," he said.

Dhoni also lavished praise on the Australian batsmen for their superb show but said the three dropped chances cost his team dear.

"We dropped three catches which proved to be costly," he said about the chances given to Shaun Marsh (twice) and Shane Watson (once).