The batsmen, particularly Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar at the start of the innings, performed creditably regardless of many poor umpiring decisions going against them. Though Dravid's miserable form continued even in the ODIs, Yuvraj Singh enhanced his reputation as a highly reliable batsman down the order.
Perhaps the best gain of the England tour is the reemergence of Zaheer. His bowling may have been a revelation to many, but it was only to be expected. Zaheer was dropped without rhyme or reason by the former Team India coach Greg Chapppell and former chairman of selectors Kiran More. The duo robbed Zaheer of almost two of the best and most critical years of his cricket career.
In the final analysis, it must be said that even if against a weaker side, the Indian cricketers badly needed a Test series triumph against one of foremost members of the ICC to erase the sad memories of their wretched performance in the World Cup in the Caribbean.
However, future historians are bound to place this triumph only after India's Test series wins in England in 1971 and 1986. On both those occasions, comparatively poor Indian teams had beaten the stronger English sides against many odds.
India in the United Kingdom 2007
Advertisement
