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'For shock value, England's best win'
Some call it an achievement surpassing Ashes, some an awe-inspiring win. But the British media agrees that it was sensational.
Some call it an achievement surpassing Ashes, some a sensational win. But most of the British media nods in agreement that England pulled off one of their greatest Test wins against India at the Wankhede to square the Test series.
"Winning Test matches in India is a difficult business at the best of times. For England to share the series with only half a full strength side was a terrific performance," wrote Geoffrey Boycott in his column in the The Daily Telegraph.
When a team gets so much praise for their win, how can kudos for the skipper be far.
"There is little doubt that Flintoff is the planet's most inspirational cricketer," said The Guardian.
In his column in The Daily Telegraph, noted cricket writer Derek Pringle seems to agree.
"Flintoff has been a colossus, rousing himself with bat and ball whenever his team or the situation demanded it," he wrote.
"Flintoff will do a fantastic job as captain if Vaughan calls it a day," wrote the English great Geoffrey Boycott.
"It is an achievement that surpasses the Ashes victory of last summer," wrote Simon Barnes in The Times. He termed the series levelling victory as 'utterly convincing'.
The Mirror rated the skipper's performance as 'absolutely immense" and compared his leadership with the inspirational Graham Gooch.
It came as no surprise that Dravid, who usually chooses his words carefully, called Freddie the "greatest" rather than the "best" all-rounder.
It can be said without any half measure that a bunch of eager debutants have shocked the sub-continent superpower and made England proud.
The Mirror sums it up to perfection: "For shock value, England's first Test win in India for 21 years was their finest ever."
