India's cricket rehab on track after gutsy draw at Lord's

In the end India was lucky to escape with a draw as the final day rain prevented an England win. But this should not disguise an effort by the team which was praiseworthy.

The forecasters got it wrong

Whilst the weather forecasters told us that we would be lucky to get away with a complete Test match uninterrupted by the weather were right, the cricket forecasters who told us to expect a high scoring match dominated by the bat were comprehensively wrong! The theory was that each side was strong and experienced in batting but that their quick bowling attacks were green and would be found wanting on a good Lord's pitch. In fact 35 of the 39 wickets that fell in the match went to seamers and there were four complete innings (nearly) in none of which did the team reach 300 runs. The conditions helped seam bowling most of the time and, apart from an initially wayward spell by the Indian attack in England's first innings, the pace bowlers took full advantage. Jimmy Anderson for England and RP Singh for India took five wickets in an innings and their names will now join the famous on the Lord's honours boards.

Determined batting by India saved the match

The longest innings of the four in the match was India's second knock at 96 overs and had Karthik, Ganguly, Laxman and especially Dhoni not got their heads down India would have been dead and buried long before the rains came. The last time I saw India's second innings in a Test match was the rather spineless capitulation in Mumbai in March 2006 when they keeled over to England in 46 overs for 100. This time there was far greater determination and Dhoni was a revelation - he scored 76 runs off 159 balls in a disciplined effort which lasted well over three hours. Dhoni is an explosive hitter of the ball but he has now proved that he is much more than this and that he can, like all the best players, adapt his style to the conditions.

India's seam attack was impressive

I liked the look of the Indian seam attack in this match. Zaheer Khan, the most experienced of the three, had been very expensive on his last visit to England in 2002 when he took 11 Test wickets at 44 runs apiece. Since then Khan has enjoyed a full season with the English county Worcestershire in 2006 where he took 78 First Class wickets at 29 runs. He clearly benefited from the experience of English conditions - especially in the second innings when he took four wickets. RP Singh played a few matches for Leicestershire earlier this season so English conditions were not unknown to him either and he profited from this by swinging the ball quite prodiguosly in this match and taking seven wickets - a very good effort. How much longer will English domestic continue to provide a development school for promising international cricketers I wonder? Sreesanth bowled well at times as well - notably with a trio of LBW wickets in England's first innings. A promising debut.

Emergence of young players was a big bonus for India

The most heartening thing for Indian supporters was the performances of the younger players, Karthik (22), Singh (21) and Sreesanth (24) - and a good thing too! The older guard of batsmen struggled a bit (Dravid, Tendulkar, Ganguly and Laxman scored 190 runs between them in eight innings an average of 24) and the great Anil Kumble was also a bit out of sorts with three wickets for 130 in the match. If these senior players strike form at Trent Bridge, and the tyros continue their promising start, England may well find it difficult later in the week.

Test cricket at its best is unequalled in its ability to hold the attention

The demands of the Indian media mean that we are only allowed three Test matches between India and England this summer to allow time for seven money-spinning One Day Internationals. I doubt that there was anyone present at Lord's last weekend who would have swapped his or her Test match day for a One Day match. The cricket was absorbing throughout - a balanced battle between bat and ball and Lord's was a stage on which, as ever, the great actors will have been thrilled to perform. I will remember with pleasure the gutsy innings, in difficult conditions, of Strauss, Vaughan, Jaffer, Karthik and Dhoni. But the abiding memories will be of the bowling of Anderson, Sidebottom, Khan and Singh - and, of course, the extraordinary century by Kevin Pietersen which took the match away from India and set up the chance of an England win. The final winner may have been the ghastly English weather - but before the rains finished things off we saw a terrific Test match which brought lustre to the game.