India captain Rahul Dravid blamed the inability of his frontline batsmen to negotiate the new ball for the team's 341-run loss to Pakistan in the third Test in Karachi on Wednesday.
Set a record target of 607 for victory, India folded for 265 on the fourth day of the five-day match to hand Pakistan the match and series.
Dravid said that while his top order batsmen failed in both innings to see off the new ball, the opposition did well in the second innings and that made the difference between the victors and vanquished.
"Credit to their [Pakistan's] batsmen. The key here was the new ball. And the difference was we lost five wickets in both the innings to the new ball," Dravid said.
"We probably let us down ourselves. The new ball was critical and we did not play it well. Yuvraj Singh's hundred in the second innings was not good enough.
"They played better cricket through the four days."
Pakistan bounced back after being reduced to 39 for 6 on the first day through Kamran Akmal's century in the first innings and a combined batting effort in the second, when they scored 599 for 7 declared.
Mohammad Asif then drove a wedge through the Indian batting, claiming Virender Sehwag, VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar -- all clean bowled.
Akmal, named man of the match, said of his second century of the series: "The plan was to play my game and stay at the crease as long as possible."
Younis Khan, the stand-in captain, was named man of the series for his two centuries in the drawn first two Tests and a vital 77 in the second innings in the third.
Inzamam-ul-Haq credited the triumph to team performance.
"The boys showed a lot of character to come back from 39 for six on the first day. It was a team game; the 11 guys played together," said the victorious home skipper, who sat out of the match with a back injury.
Dravid said the five-match limited-overs series, beginning with the first in Peshawar on February 6, would be a different ball game.
"It is a different competition with different rules. Pakistan is a good one-day side especially at home. We have a young side who has done well recently. We are looking forward to it," he said.
