The consummate demolition of Australia's tail and a bold choice to promote Cheteshwar Pujara up the order resulted in India wrapping up a convincing seven-wicket win - and two-nil series victory - with plenty of time to spare on day five of the second Test in Bangalore on Wednesday.

With high hopes of eking out a lead in excess of 250 runs, the Aussies' overnight score of 202 for seven was promptly reduced to 223 all out by Zaheer Khan and Shantha Sreesanth's exemplary display of how to bowl to tail-enders. Offering nothing loose and plenty at the stumps, the seam duo needed just 10.2 overs to rattle through Mitchell Johnson (11), Ben Hilfenhaus (duck) and Peter George (duck).

Shrugging off the daunting reality that no team had ever chased more than 196 to win a Test match at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, and the temptation to bat out the draw, the home side quickly got stuck into their 207-run target.

Unperturbed by the early departure of Virender Sehwag for seven, Murali Vijay and Pujara, who weren't part of the triumphant XI in Mohali, filled their boots across a dominant 72-run second wicket stand in putting to rest any suggestion of an iffy chase.

Having previously bemoaned the series on the sub-continent as preparation far from ideal ahead of the Ashes epic later this year, Ricky Ponting seemed all too detached from proceedings as Vijay and Pujara, elevated to first drop ahead of Rahul Dravid on an arguable whim from Mahendra Singh Dhoni, milked an overly defensive field on either side of the lunch break.

Prompted by a lack of impact from his pace spearheads, of which Johnson fared the worst, the visiting skipper offered Australian fans momentary respite from impending defeat when he requested Shane Watson force the breakthrough. The right-arm seamer obliged with a timely off-cutter to send Vijay packing lbw for 37, only to then cough up too many wayward deliveries as first-innings double-centurion Sachin Tendulkar and sidekick Pujara cranked out a half-century stand at more than four runs to the over.

While the cricketing legend happily played second fiddle, the greenhorn cut and drove with timing and placement akin to that of a 40-Test veteran. Taking to the day-five pitch, cracking up at every turn, as if it was Saturday's featherbed, Pujara's pedigree across 72 authoritative runs showed exactly why he was chosen as the like-for-like replacement of the injured VVS Laxman.

Nathan Hauritz, after fetching plenty of tap earlier in the day, and indeed the series, enjoyed some belated consolation when he did for Pujara with the straight one. Playing all around it to be castled, the talented right-hander was understandably aggrieved to have missed out on a maiden Test ton, which was very much there for the taking in the face of 11 dejected Australian mugs.

Left to the modest home straight, Tendulkar and Dravid (21 not out) took India home in fine style shortly after the tea break with an unbeaten 61-run partnership. Aided by back-to-back slog-swept sixes over Cow Corner off Hauritz, Tendulkar moved past his umpteenth Test half-century - a superfluous landmark, really, considering the 49 centuries and six double-tons that upstage it.

He finished unbeaten on 53, taking his two-Test series tally to an incredible 403 runs at an average of 134.33.

Having approached the two-match affair as an unwelcome precursor to bigger things to come against England, Ponting's posse would have been better off viewing it as a testing series in its own right. Now though, the Australian brains trust is left with more questions - What of Marcus North? Where to from here for Hauritz? - and a token ODI series to slog through before heading back to the drawing board at home.

Shot of the Day
As authoritative as Tendulkar's consecutive heaves over the midwicket fences were, Pujara's opening boundary - an immaculate drive through cover off Johnson - set an early precedent for his masterful front-foot play to follow.

Delivery of the Day
Helped by the inconsistent nature of the deck, Hilfenhaus enjoyed some additional lift off a good length to find Sehwag, on tippy toes at the arrival of the ball, wanting on the edge.

Defining Moment of the Day
Although Mike Hussey's spill of Sehwag in the second over of the innings didn't prove too costly in terms of runs conceded (Sehwag fell six later), his hanging onto a cracker at backward point might've proved just the spur Australia needed to go onto square the series. It wasn't to be as, what could've been proved the stimulant for glory, instead opened the door for more fumbles, overthrows and eventual resignation.

Jonhenry Wilson