Winning mantra: Ready, Freddie, Go!

The man, who on his last visit here five years ago famously took off his shirt and celebrated England8217;s series-levelling ODI win, has come a long way.

Before he came to India, we8217;d heard all about his cricketing prowess. His batting, bowling and slip-fielding. What we didn8217;t know was his ability to be a leader of men 8212; rather, of a rag-tag army largely comprising debutants. Five key elements of this England side 8212; Vaughan, Trescothick, Jones, Harmison and Giles 8212; were snatched away, before and during the series. Imagine Sehwag leading an Indian team minus Sachin, Dravid, Kumble, Pathan and Harbhajan to an away win.

Flintoff himself had modest hopes pre-tour. 8216;8216;The one thing I wanted to do in India was score runs. The last time I came here, I made 27 runs in three Tests, so there were question marks over my head as regards playing in the sub-continent and playing spin,8217;8217; he said.

No more question marks. Eleven wickets, a batting average of 52, barely a wrong move on the field, and inspiring players as diverse as Alastair Cook 21 and Shaun Udal 37 8212; Freddie well and truly surpassed his own expectations.

One of the more poignant moments of an otherwise forgettable afternoon was the sight of Flintoff shaking hands with his opposite number. Like Flintoff, Dravid also excelled individually and finished with an average of 61; the difference was the support he received from his teammates.

Later, in the warm glow of victory, Flintoff was asked about the future. He was more keen to talk about having beer with the lads in the dressing room and again in the evening. As for his future as captain he said, 8216;8216;I will hand it over to Vaughny as soon as he his fit8230; I love to play under him.8217;8217;

HOW THE HOSTS LOST THE PLOT

THE TOSS

India were on the back foot even before the match began when Dravid decided to field first. He later said it was a wrong decision: 8216;8216;In hindsight, I would have batted first8217;8217;

BOWLING

Allowing England to score 279 on Day One gave the tourists a head start. And Andrew Strauss8217;s century gave them the confidence

BATTING LINE-UP

There were too many stroke players; Dravid apart, there was no batsman who could defend. Instead, strokemakers like Sehwag, Dhoni and Yuvraj, all with similar aggressive batting styles. Maybe Kaif would have made a difference with his ability to play fast but less aggressively

CATCHING

India dropped as many as 16 catches in the match. If catches win matches, this was an early pointer to Wednesday8217;s result

PRESSURE OF CHASING

The main reason for India8217;s loss can be attributed to the way the top-order batted in both the innings. India scored just 100 runs in the second innings, after barely avoiding a follow-on in the first. Had they batted first, England could8217;ve been in similar trouble on Day Five