IANS

London, Sep 7: The British press paid fulsome tributes to the Indian team for Wednesday's nail-biting two-wicket victory over England and wondered if the final encounter at the Lord's on Saturday would be equally thrilling.

The Guardian reported India's victory with the title: ‘India stun England with last-gasp win to level series’, and called the tie as “one of the most scintillating ever seen in this country”.

It reported: “As Robin Uthappa completed a mammoth run chase by drilling an off-drive crisply past the dive of a despairing mid-off and on to the boundary, the air horns and whistles of the Indian contingent in the crowd began their cacophony.

“It had been brilliant stuff, entertainment of the highest class and it has kept alive to the last match at Lord's on Saturday a series that, when England took a 3-1 lead at Old Trafford, had appeared all but over.”

Uthappa was the hero of India's victory, but many, including former England captain Michael Atherton, now a television commentator, had problems pronouncing his name.

Ex-cricketers such as David Gower and David Lloyd wondered why Uthappa did not feature prominently in the Indian side earlier in the Tests and one-day ties.

Highlighting the achievements of the England side, The Independent reported the event with the headline: ‘England can hold heads high after Oval thriller’, and reported that captain Paul Collingwood had every justification in saying his team could “keep their heads held high” ahead of Saturday's series decider.

The Daily Telegraph reported the event with the headline: ‘India defy Dimitri Mascarenhas blitz’, and called it a “ding-dong one-day series”.

The newspaper recalled how India had famously chased 326 to beat England at Lord's, when Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif had meticulously gone about getting the required runs against Nasser Hussain's England side in the Natwest final.

The Times reported the tie with the headline: ‘Uthappa resists England power play to put gloss finish on game that had it all’. It reported: “Pity the man who had to condense this extraordinary match into a highlights package. It had everything: a maiden hundred, a precocious debut, a contentious run-out, a record over of big hitting, verbal jousting, more Sachin Tendulkar genius, a steepling Monty Panesar catch and a last-over finish. A capacity crowd watched, enthralled.”