Trent Bridge, We Love You

"What a lovely day, It's a lovely blue sunshine here today."

Henry Blofeld, in his trademark plummy voice, was referring to the Lords cricket ground when he spoke these words. But day four at Nottingham was equally glorious, with clear, 'forget me not' blue skies. And as the sun shone over Trent Bridge, it was Indian bowlers who added sparkle to what can be described as one of the best days for Indian cricket.

But why single out only the fourth day? The whole of second test has been like a fairy tale for the Indian team. If Rahul Dravid was asked to script his own version of a dream overseas win, I am certain, he could not have written any better - win the toss, skittle out the opposition for less than 200, take an almost 300 runs lead, and finish it off in style with a resounding 7 wicket win, as if it were a well oiled machine at work.

Of course, a well-oiled machine, is more often than not, a misnomer when one uses it in the same breath as Indian cricket team. Most of India's recent away wins have been a result of a standout performance from couple of players at the most. With due apologies to Ajit Agarkar and L Balaji, India's test wins at Adelaide and Rawalpindi conjure up the image of Rahul Dravid's epic double tons. The 'Sultan of Multan' - Sehwag springs to mind when one talks of India's first test win on Pakistan soil. And India's first ever win at Sabina Park owes much to Dravid's technical brilliance in scoring two half centuries (the only two scored in that match) on a crumbling pitch.

Some victories, though, are more satisfying than others. Trent Bridge is one such win. It is also different, in that, the whole team contributed - something akin to the one at Jo'burg, few months ago.

Zaheer Khan, in all probability, will get the man of the match award - he richly deserves it too - but if ever there was a case for breaking traditions and giving 'Men of the Match' award, this was it.

If bowlers sent the team's stock soaring high, on Friday - when the benchmark indices around the world came crashing down - it was the batsmen who fended off the 'Bears' over next two days and ensured their effort did not go waste. The platform firmly in place, it was only a matter of 'When' not 'How', Zaheer Khan and co capped it with yet another display of superb swing bowling. For a change, almost every player came to the party.

There remain some loose ends and few lacunae, though. But this is not the time to delve on it.

For the moment, let us savor this magnificent - also one of India's very best - test win.

Take a bow, TEAM INDIA.