Wow, this was super !! India managed to exorcise several fourth innings ghosts, chasing a target of 387 to beat England and go 1-0 up in the series. Finally, Tendulkar got a chance to shut up his critics with a superbly crafted if somewhat restrained century to help India overhaul the target.

What was truly awesome was the manner in which Sehwag batted ! Only a year ago, there were surprised looks from all around including yours truly, when he was selected for the Test series against Australia. What a difference a year makes ! He is now the leading run scorer in Tests this year. In this match, it was his stunning knock of 83 in 68 balls that completely took the wind out of England’s sails and set up the game for India. Instead of plodding around the 40 - 50 run mark, India were 117-0 in quick time before he got out, giving the other batsmen lots of breathing space and raising hopes of an Indian victory. Awesome !!

For once, Yuvraj also lived up to the hype around him, but the disappointment was Rahul ‘The Wall’ Dravid, who seems to be crumbling brick by brick and can’t seem to get his form back. Dhoni lived up to expectations, and now has 4 wins from his first 4 Tests as captain, a fantastic achievement, especially for the once “draw-happy” Indian team !! :)

Way to go, guys !!

 

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