Kumble took pride in the way his team had played during the four-match series, rebounding from a heavy loss in the first Test in Melbourne to match the Australians over the last three games.

Australia won the second match in Sydney in controversial circumstances when India were just minutes away from salvaging a draw but the tourists won the third in Perth.

The fourth and final match in Adelaide ended in a draw on Monday after both teams had piled on the runs on the batting-friendly pitch.

"We have stepped up to their level. That is the quality we have," Kumble told a news conference.

"We lost pretty badly in Melbourne. We did exceptionally well in Sydney, I wish we had hung on for that seven or eight minutes to get a draw. Perth was very special and the way we played here was exceptional."

BRIGHT FUTURE

Kumble, who with Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman were almost certainly making their last appearance on Australian soil, predicted a bright future for Indian cricket with the emergence of younger players on the tour.

"Looking at the talent that was available, with a young lot stepping up to the plate here in the series, and also the future we have with the young players back home, it certainly augers well," he said.

"We didn't come with our full strength fast bowling attack and then we lost our main fast bowler, Zaheer (Khan), after the first Test. The way the young fast bowling unit responded was fantastic, RP Singh led the attack, Irfan (Pathan) came in, bowled beautifully, Ishant (Sharma) was probably the find of the series. For a 19-year-old, first series in Australia, his attitude and aggression right throughout and the way he troubled every batsman was fantastic."

India have never won a series in Australia but Kumble believes it was only a matter of time.

"The next Indian team will certainly look back at our performances here and be proud that they can surely come here and win a Test series here," he said.