By Justin Langer Australian Test batsman

The torrential rains certainly came as a shock to us.

Workers tried in vain to mop up the rain at the Chepauk Stadium

Drawing the curtains of my hotel room, the last thing I expected was a sky full of dark, heavy clouds, blanketing drenched and puddled Madras streets.

Maybe these showers were just an early clearing of the heavy air that had made the first four days of this second Test the toughest days of my cricket career?

Local knowledge and the knowing glances when we arrived at the ground suggested more than a few clearing showers.

As it turned out this home ground wisdom proved to be factual as the much needed rain quashed any hope of play in what promised to be a sensational final day of Test match cricket.

Before the series, my expectation was of a titanic arm wrestle between two heavyweight fighters and if the intensity of the two first Tests is anything to go by then I wasn't far off the mark in my predictions.

My lasting memories of Madras will be of the intense heat, the uncomfortable humidity and the pure physical and mental draining of the contest.

In Sharjah two years ago we played in temperatures reaching the high 40s and low 50 Celsius marks.

Then, our bowlers could only bowl two or three over spells before retreating to the changing rooms to recover from the anguish of such obscene playing conditions.

While it was extremely taxing there in Sharjah, the two Test matches lasted only two days each, thanks to our dominance over a young Pakistani team.

In contrast, Madras provided similar climactic conditions, with the added pressure of a battle between two very determined and talented Test teams.

Kumble took 13 wickets in the drawn Test match

Every night after the game I would return to my hotel room and collapse on my bed, pondering the rollercoaster nature of every day of the match.

Right up until the last night it was impossible to predict who held the upper hand.

On paper India only needed 210 runs to secure an equalising victory, but we knew that 210 runs was going to be 210 of the hardest runs India would ever have to make.

With the pitch deteriorating and the pressure mounting, there is no doubt India would have had to have batted with supreme discipline and commitment if they were to take the Test away from us.

Either way, the fact is we will never know what would have happened on the final day as rain proved the convener.

From our point of view there were times during the game when we lacked our usual intensity and energy.

There may be reasons for this but we definitely made more elementary mistakes in the field than usual.

These mistakes gave India the advantage at different stages and underlined the importance of the consistent and dogged pressure required to win here in India.

It is easier to lapse because of the conditions and various distractions, but if we are to win this series we know that the standard we set in the first Test is the level we must play from now on if we are to succeed.

With a 10-day spell before the third Test in Nagpur we have time on our hands to recover from the drain of this second Test.

We will also revisit our approach to players like Virender Sehwag, Anil Kumble and the returning Sachin Tendulkar who are the big players in the final outcome of this series.