Congratulations to India

If ever a man deserved to pluck a stump from the ground and take it as a souvenir of a Test match it was Sachin Tendulkar, whose majestic unbeaten hundred this morning helped India to the highest successful run-chase on the sub-continent. It was particularly appropriate that the man from Mumbai should reach his hundred and score the winning runs with the same stroke. As he said himself, it by no means eases the suffering of those in his home city who lost loved ones two weeks ago, but it will put a smile on some faces.

England were on top for the best part of four days but when it mattered their bowlers had little to them. Few chances were given by India - a teensy chance at silly mid-off spurned by Cook when Tendulkar was on ten; a hard leg-side catch missed by Prior later in the day - and they won with almost half a session to spare. Some may criticise Kevin Pietersen for declaring with one wicket in hand, but England could have scored 50 more runs and it wouldn't have been enough.

If only we hadn't dismissed Dravid so early. An hour or so of him scratching around could just about have put the win beyond India, but that is negative talk. Sehwag set the agenda on the fourth evening and Tendulkar and Yuvraj took up the challenge, batting aggressively when needed but above all sensibly. In the face of some toothless bowling, this was calm, controlled batting. You felt that the batsmen knew that if they stayed together for a few hours, they would win. The score didn't matter, only staying in. By doing so, Yuvraj showed that he has the temperament for Test cricket. We never had any doubts about Tendulkar's.

What next for England? They will be wondering how on earth they lost this game and after the batsmen twice passed 300 it is the bowlers who have to carry the can. I imagine they will be unchanged for Mohali, but part of me would like to see Anderson or Harmison replaced by the reverse-swinging Amjad Khan and Adil Rashid given a go instead of Panesar, who really should have done better. Ian Bell's place should also be considered. But that is a decision for tomorrow. Today is all about the marvellous Sachin Tendulkar.

Comments

[kap]

A great match, reminiscent of the great come back v Australia in 2001. But wot no comment on England's behaviour? Before the match they spoke noble words of coming back to India being a duty to the game, to the nation, to the dead. I found it hard to reconcile with the way they went about playing. Shocking that their excessive appealing is never punished. They appeal for LBWs that pitch 2 foot outside leg! No sub continental team would escape censure for such antics. Today I think even the umpires had had enough and didn't give a LBW because England were appealing a phantom caught behind. If the Aussies sledge in this manner they are rightly criticised so why not the same of the English? And how can Harmison get away with chucking that ball at Yuvraj? Or Prior so obviously roughing up the wicket in taking throws? A fabulous match but I will remember it as much for the snidey tactics of the English players.

[Johnmc]

Well played India - shows what a bit of confidence can do for a side. Speaking of which, is anyone actually trying to help Monty? Isn't it about time some of England's legions of coaches earned their money. As for the batting, on a decent pitch three of our top 6 contributed next to nothing. Pietersen can be allowed an off match but is Flintoff really a better batsman than Prior? If Prior is in the side at least give him a chance to prove his class up the order rather than lumber him with the tail (which might suit Flintoff more, anyway). And then there is Bell - has anyone told him that the double century at Lord's was supposed to be a launching pad for the rest of his career not something to sit back and enjoy. In four Tests since he has averaged below 20. Bet he plays in the next Test though

[Saranya]

One of the truly great knocks from one of the true giants of the game. How fitting that Mumbai's favourite son should see India home. I just wish he was 25, not 35, it will be a very sad day when he eventually calls time on his career, lets hope we don't see that day for a good while yet.

Credit to England, they turned in a performance no one expected of them.

[Deepak]

Bravo Tendlya!!!

[Deepak Natarajan]

Yes, most importantly this win may mitigate to some extent the recent Mumbai tragedy.A much needed win.Tendulkar,Sehwag and Yuvraj hve proved beyond any shadow of doubt that they are the very best in the business.

[Dinil]

This is simple outstanding. Sachin is unarguably the greatest batsman the world have even seen.

[Hari]

As much as this match will be remembered for sparkling individual performances by Strauss, Colly, Tendulkar, Sehwag, Swann, Yuvraj; as much as it will be remembered for a stupendous last day that exorcised Indian ghosts in 4th inn chases; this match must and hopefully will be remembered as a triumph for the game, a triumph for England who came back to India when they easily could've chosen not to, a triumph for the fans and the city of Chennai (my hometown); and most of all for the city of Mumbai to whom this match and series must be dedicated.

Well done England, well done India -many thanks to both teams. This match truly lifted my spirits - hats off. Wish I'd been there to watch.

[saurabh]

Thank You England for coming back to India and playing a great game.
Even if you would have won, there wouldn't have been any hard feelings.
You are the true stars and for me as an Indian, the respect that I had for England has gone up by quite a few notches. I doff my hat to you.

Patrik, if possible can you please share this message with KP. He and his team are the heros. I do not believe that they came due to IPL glory, they came back cos' that was the right thing to do and I am glad that they did.

Last of all, Thanks to Sachin, Yuvi, and to that genious Sehwag. Thanks for bringing a small cheer to us.

[abhishek]

the true winner of this game is cricket.i want to thank all players in the england team for comming to india and play cricket and special thanks to kevin pietersen for convincing the team to come to INDIA and english cricket club for sending their team to india.england may have lost the match but they have won the hearts of 1 billion people of india.

[Alex]

India won this game because of sehwag. No one else. Not because of bad captaicy of pieterson. If sehwag got out early 387 will be humongus..indians would have bowled out for paltry 180. Yes i am 100% sure of that. Sachin plays well when there is not much pressure tos core runs fast..he is a great nudger and milker of runs. He is genius accumulator. That is about it. For me he is still a choker. Sachin has to thank sehwag for putting himself in winning test...

If you remove sehwag , indian team is loser team. As long as sehwag clicks...indian team rolls on... when he start to fail everyone look stupid and ineffective. All indian bowling will be ineffective.

But again..there is something special about dhoni...even with sehwag clicked many games dravid , kumble squandered the chance played for draw...in that way dhoni is great captain india ever produced. 4 out of 4.

[Innocent Abroad]

Ach... I wish I'd followed my own advice, I gave you the prices from Hill's after all... and yes, it would be a good time to blood Khan and Rashid in the next Test: Monty needs a kick up the you-know-where, he's never been under pressure for his place since he came into the side. And Shah for Bell, too, please.

But KP will get what he wants, and what he wants is a settled team - which is also hard to argue against. Still, sometimes you want guys to play with niggles, and sometimes maybe you don't...

[Raj Balakrishnan]

Strauss and Collingwood batted a bit too slowly on the fourth day morning surrendering the advantage that England held at the end of the third day. Panesar let down the team badly on the final day.

[Harpal]

True grit brought the Brits back to India. India answered. Cricket defeated terrorism.

[ajayb]

As an Indian, I am grateful to the English players for showing solidarity with us. You have won our hearts with your Humanity. This truly "is cricket."

[sreekanth nair]

England had won our hearts,they really showed charector in difficult circumstances..They are not losers,equal winners,you lost the match to a great man -sachin-leading from the front.All the best for ashes,we will support you.

[Manu]

One Game, many winners: KP an his men simply by their willingness to play; Dhoni and his mates by their grit in coming back from the fourth day afternoon onwards; Sachin the man who epitomized the spirit of a great nation; Viru the inimitable... and Test Cricket, the marvellous seducer.

[Anil Kapuria]

English team deserves honors for coming back to play. It sends a message that terror cannot succeed.

Thank you, England!!

[Sunil]

My sincere gratitude to the English team for returning to India and playing a fantastic test match. You have won many hearts in India through your courageous actions on and off the field. You put on an excellent fight and gave us five days of great cricket. It was one of the best test match I have seen in a long while.

Thank you and good luck to you in the next test match.

[Urban_legend]

Re: the simple minded person below calling Sachin a choker. While it is true that Sehwag was the initiator of the Indian victory - it would not have been possible without Sachin there to close the game. To call someone who has scored close to 12500 runs and 41 centuries (not to mention 14000 runs and another 40+ centuries in the One day format) a choker is being extremely naive. Without Sachin - there would have been no Sehwag (literally as Sehwag modeled so much of his game to follow Sachin's blueprint)

[Anurag]

Sehwag has pushed the door of greatness in 2008 with Adelaide, Chennai (both 319 and 83), Kandy and many many cameos! I feel he is entering the decisive phase of his career, and I am glad it coincides with the defining phase of Indian cricket! Great captain, all-weather bowling and a batting in full splendour!
As a footnote, my heart aches to see Dravid fail. If only he can regain his form.. he is the non-performing cog in this Indian juggernaut now! Just wish he "comes back to life"...

[Bas]

Get Shah in for Bell!

[Prithvi]

Alex says"If you remove sehwag , indian team is loser team. "

This is a remarkably hilarious statement. England "removed" Sehwag if you will. Either that or he was an invisible wraith occupying the crease behind the batsmen at the crease, not allowing anything to so much as put a blemish on this Indian run chase. Do you also believe in pixies?

When Sehwag got out, India needed a paltry 270 runs on a fifth day track. Imagine a "bunch of losers" managed to score 270 on a crumbling last day track in India!!!! When was the last time England managed that? Wait, I know the answer and it's never! Btw, India beat England in their own backyard, must be something to chew on, getting beaten by losers, eh?

Perhaps players like Laxman and Tendulkar (the choker) are dime a dozen where you come from, but the rest of humanity(England's a part of that lot you know) will take them anyday. It's a telling fact that India's talisman in games like these, Rahul Dravid scored all of seven runs and India still managed to win with six wickets in hand and 20 odd overs to spare.

Calling a player who's consistently redefined the way the game's been played over the last two decades a choker (especially in the light of a fourth innings ton to win the game) is perhaps one for the "verbal gaffes of the century" list. Do you know he's got more centuries in just one format of the game than more English teams put together have managed over the years? Bet you didn't, but I am not surprised either. 41 centuries, and I am not even getting into the shorter format...

Go back to your cave, get a primary education in cricket and after that still don't bother the civilized world with your trollish viewpoints.

I am not going wax eloquent about England coming here to play cricket, but I do appreciate them putting up a fight. Rant's over.

[Rishabh]

whose dis alex?????....sachin is a choker....????wt d hell he is tlkng bout.....

[Amonyum]

Dear Alex,u r a bledi choker......

[Lion hearted INDIAN]

Dear author kindly approve my comments on dear alex choker...looser....

[Mowgli]

Relax guys, 'tis clear from his language that 'Alex' is no Alex. One can easily guess at his uneducated antecedents.

And just to add to what the others have said, my thanks to the England team for playing in India. And of course, to the Indian team, who belied my cynicism by chasing down a difficult target.

[senthil]

it truly sachin's master piece drive india to victory. He guided the game without any pressure.

[Saurav Chatterjee]

The fact is that the match became interesting because India played a casual first innings.They were complacent after their 2-0 victory over the Aussies. Otherwise if India could score 387/4 in the fourth innings , there was no reason why they got out for a paltry 240 odd runs in the first innings.

[H Patel]

Alex has got a very short memory. India beat England in England last year without Sehwag. Who is a loser?
Alex should do his homework before making such comments. According to him India should have scored only 297 (180 runs scored after Sehwag was out at 117)

[Pradeep]

England, you last the match but won the hearts of a billion people.

[Rajesh K]

Its a game between two sides. " Clash of Titans"
Opponents had the fear of going onto a turf where terror had struck and the mark was felt for sure. Hosts had a reason to play their part to show solidarity to Strength at a time when the dysfunctional political system failed to control the terror, due to the minority vote bank.
The few posted comments do bring in one(s) / Many views, but failed to appreciate that both teams had the same goal of winning the game. The best prevailed.
Its sad to be called a 'Choker' or a bunch of losers, when the best called the shots.
KP had done the right thing to push and dominate the sessions but failed to amass as many runs more, with only 2 batsmen contributing the most for England and many having failed to do their job. Its not easy to underestimate any batsman, but here the Indian batsman showed oneness, in terms of courage, to experience, thus scripting a great victory in the world of cricket.

Yuvaraj, contributed his best performance and stood by the little Master, what more. The match turned in favour of Indians due to the quick outburst of runs thanks to Sehwag and always good to see Gambhir doing his best. Though Dravid and VVS failed to contribute, the dent was over shadowed by the show between Sachin and Yuvi giving us the cricket lovers a divine experience of the best won match that one could have witnessed.

Boycott's ire is nothing but a negate on the English team moral and confidence of the players. England should try to win this match & draw the series. The sports fraternity am sure will stand tall to cheer and help the teams. All that i can say is sports is a natural process of bringing Unity and Diversity.

KP, you have done us all more proud - Well done.
Kudos to both the teams for the exhilarating show of 5 days of non stop nail biting cricket.

[ramu]

whoever calls sachin a choker must really be the 1 who doesnt respect the game....sachin's a pure genius..1nce in a life time player...so feel lucky to see such a player in your life time and he deserves al respect and fame that he s got for his unsurpassable talent and determination...kudos to sachin for his marvellous career...we will miss you a lot when u say good bye!

[amigo]

ha ha..who is this alex..ha ha ha!
you talking about a man averaging above 50 throughout 20 year career? where did u come from? for your information, indian team does not depend on any particular player.. it used to overly depend on sachin, but it is all past and again there will never be another sachin tendulkar who dominated the likes of warne, alan donald, walsh, waqar, wasim, macdermot, dominic, pollock, magrath..to bret leez and...muraliz!! even bradman never faced a quality bowling like this...remember by then it was just an england and cricket was evolving..simple the greatest or one the greatest ever to hold a cricket bat..:)

[Prithvi]

Alex says again (freedom of speech never had it this bad) "Not because of bad captaicy of pieterson. If sehwag got out early 387 will be humongus..indians would have bowled out for paltry 180. Yes i am 100% sure of that."

You know that India won the "last test series in England", without Sehwag playing the entire tour, don't you? Ah yes, you do, but then again you prefer sour grapes.

Your posts don't seem like that of an English supporter. Methinks you are a pakistani supporter in WUM disguise, yes I am 100% sure(sic) of that. Your pettiness is amusing. Odd how you're posting in forums like this with an ability like that. You would do well to hit the share markets or the take a punt on against some impressive odds.

If Tendulkar didn't finish what Sehwag had started, India wouldn't have won the game (they might have drawn it, your odds against that not withstanding). You perhaps fail to realize the Cricket is a team game, 11 people play for a common cause, Sehwag laid the foundation, the rest built on it.

Great match, after the bad times.

Thanks You England, for opting to play. Thank You India, for winning it for us. Thank You Sachin, for doing it again :)

Hope 2nd match is also a close call as this one.

[Shivprasad]

I Think ALEX is counting sour grapes.
I don't think he has even watched a cricket match seriously. To call Tendulkar a choker after scoring tons of runs in international cricket as a proof. Before saying that India won by luck, ask yourself
..After dominating more than 10 sessions, why England lost?
..What is so great about this English team which fell from 257 for 3 to 311 for 9. Isn't this effort by Indian bowlers praiseworthy.
.. Why were Mr. Panesar & Mr. Swann totally ineffective on a spinning track in of 5th day?
I am sure you don't understand Cricket Mr. Alex. Otherwise you wouldn't have forgotten 5 - nil thrashing in the One day series.
It is very good to be a staunch supporter of your National team, But that doesn't mean you can criticize other teams for sake of it.

[Mahalik]

Can any one remembers Alex or has he been forgotten by now.
Calling Tendulkar a choker???????
Does he know what cricket is?
41 hundreds in both the formats of the game and not to forget the number of ninties.My God! what else you expect from this humane?

Who is this alex? pls tell this man to pay some respect to Tendulkar who has fought for these many years(19)for it. No one teaches any one how to respect others. Its cultivated within you. And if he is a nuts, no one bothers about him.

[Vidhya Shankar]

Tendulkar (the choker according to Alex) is the only modern player to feature in Bradman's dream team. Only modern player. Many of his remarkable Test centuries went meaningless and never helped for an Indian victory but it just helped India to a draw or avoid embarrasing defeats. No other player in the history of any sport ever played with so much pressure and perform consistently for nearly 20 years. He is just 1165 away from 30000 international runs and he is another 800 deliveries away from facing 20000 deliveries in ODI.

One shud understand the monumental achievement (if he has some knowledge abt the sport)or shud see their own lives what they have achieved before calling someone as choker.

[rss]

friends,

please, tell me how many players have scored 41 hundrdes and out of that 3 in 4th inning? (dont count 92+ scores of 50+ in 155 tests) only an ideot can say tendulkar is a chocker.
12 hundrdes in loss and 16+ scores of 50+ reuns shows that he is a fighter INDIAN and not an english or aussie gay.