Ricky Ponting is adamant that he had to report Harbhajan Singh for an alleged racist comment during the second Test match between India and Australia in Sydney.

Anil Kumble, the India captain, revealed yesterday that he had asked Ponting, his Australian counterpart, to resolve the matter privately to avoid the crisis that has since disrupted the series.

But Ponting says it was his responsibility to lodge an official complaint with the on-field umpires because racism in cricket is too important a problem to treat lightly.

"I carried out my duties as captain," Ponting told the Nine Network television station. "It's not about me reporting anybody, it's the umpires' job to do that and that's what they did."

"When we sat down at the end and I had a really good chat with him and the Indian management and the few other players that were there.

"I said 'look, this is not about us, this is a big issue in the game and I want to move on. When this is done I want us to play the best series we can from here on' - and he agreed with that."

Harbhajan was found guilty of calling Andrew Symonds, the Australia all-rounder, a monkey during the Test, which Australia won on Sunday.

The India spin bowler has maintained his innocence and lodged an appeal, while the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) initially responded by suspending the tour.

They later agreed to play the remaining two matches of the four-Test series but only on the condition that Harbhajan is cleared and has his three-match ban rescinded.

India are also unhappy with the behaviour of the Australia players during the series, accusing them of being overly zealous in their appeals and standing their ground when they had been caught behind.

Ponting suggested today that they should have behaved more sportingly. "Maybe I should have reacted differently here and Michael Clarke might be saying the same thing," he said. "A few of the guys might all be looking at what we've done that last game."