India’s efforts lauded

“This could be the exact morale-booster India were looking for,” Lloyd added. Former England bowler Derek Pringle and ex-captain Michael Atherton, covering the match here, minced no words on how England dug their own grave. While praising skipper Michael Vaughan for his brilliant hundred and even Chris Tremlett for the extra-ordinary early morning burst on the fifth and final day—two wickets in 27 balls, conceding only four runs—they criticised the team for everything else, especially how England “had forgotten to maintain the spirit of the game.”

The effort of Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the first Test was inspiring for the team before coming into this Trent Bridge Test. His half-century and bad weather had got India out of jail there, and at Trent Bridge, Lloyd said: “The confidence in their approach was quite visible.”

There is little doubt now that the initiative rests with India going into the third and final Test. The prospect of winning a series here in England after more than two decades is bright. Former England captain Graham Gooch too appreciated the way India took control of the situation against all odds. Gooch praised Zaheer Khan’s bowling—his five-wicket haul—which he said “was a classic reply to the jelly bean controversy.”