By IANS
Nottingham : Make no mistake – this Test series is not won yet. England can be expected to respond ruthlessly in the third and final Test at The Oval starting Aug 9.
Jelly beans and S. Sreesanth’s antics notwithstanding, it was a memorable seven- wicket victory for India, the first at Trent Bridge – a 169-year-old cricket ground – and by no means a performance to be scoffed at.
More than anybody else the man who conjured it was Zaheer Khan – what a comeback he’s made since being dropped from the Indian side, which is another illustration of the benefit of returning to first-class cricket to work out problems and re-emerging stronger!
In this respect, Khan could not have taken a wiser decision than spending last summer with Worcestershire – professional county cricket is still a great finishing school.
While the ball swings in England and this makes life easier for quicker bowlers – indeed a boon to exponents from the sub-continent – one still has to successfully exploit such conditions.
In the English first innings, it was relatively simple for a person of Khan’s experience to collect scalps. It was in the opposition’s second venture that he really proved his mettle.
Not only did he dismiss five of the first six batsmen, but removed them bowled, caught behind or leg before – in other words, not by the good fortune of great catches off fierce but slightly mistimed cuts!
Indeed, his magnificent performance on a sunny fourth day when the environment was not rendering as much assistance to movement in the air as on the first two days has drawn comparisons with the sultan of left-arm fast bowlers, Wasim Akram in a section of English media.
While elevating Khan to the same platform as Akram would be erroneous, an interesting resemblance has indeed surfaced – the former’s ability to pose serious questions of right-handed batsmen from around the wicket.
Khan kept them guessing on whether the ball would swing in or out, thus eliciting an uncertainty of approach.
Fellow left-arm quick, the younger Rudra Pratap Singh has followed suit and caused the same kind of problems.
India has, thus, in this series pulled a rabbit from out of the hat, which England had not anticipated.
In course of his inspired and decisive display in England’s second outing, the only batsman who succeeded in working out a strategy against Khan was Michael Vaughan, who batted with a serenity that suggests he’s back at his best. As long as he occupied the crease, an Indian triumph could not be taken for granted.
The fact that his exit resulted in seven wickets tumbling for 68 runs epitomised that he alone was the Hadrian’s Wall.
The toss was, of course, important and India, admittedly, gained from this. But it is equally true that the Indian batsmen adapted themselves better to the challenging circumstances. They really put their heads down, left the ball judiciously, yet didn’t get bogged down.
The 147-run opening partnership between Wasim Jaffer and Dinesh Karthik was an unequivocal reflection of technical skill, as was Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly’s handing of the second new ball on the third morning.
After a decade of famine in the 1990s, India have won their second Test in England in as many tours.
On the previous occasion, they squared the series with their success at Headingley, Leeds, where, too, Khan had contributed usefully.
Last winter, after taking a lead in South Africa, they ultimately lost the series 2-1.
There is no such danger this time. But Vaughan is sure to fight tooth and nail to preserve his impressive unbeaten record as captain on home soil.