British media on Tuesday were unanimous in their praise of Sachin Tendulkar
as they flayed England
and felt for "reasons of compassion" the right team won.Describing the first Test in Chennai as one of the most politically
significant match in the history of the game, the media also noted that it was
a matter of time before India
became the number one side.
The Mumbai massacres and Tendulkar's emotional reference to it was evoked
and it was observed that the final runs fittingly came from the bat of the
little master who after the match revealed that two of the victims of the
terror attacks were parents of pupils at daughter Sara's school.
"India
are taking their game to a new level. By successfully chasing down 387 on a
fifth-day pitch, the fourth highest fourth-innings run chase in Test history
and the highest ever on the sub-continent, they appear to have banished their
squeamishness for making tough runs," wrote former England player Derek Pringle
in his column in 'The Daily Telegraph'.
"It was new ground too for Tendulkar, India's
pre-eminent batsman during the first innings but rarely a dominant figure in
last-day pursuits."Pringle was also unequivocal in his praise of the Mumbai born and bred Tendulkar's
ability to guide Yuvraj Singh.
"So often the quiet one, he (Tendulkar) cajoled, encouraged and
generally advised all his subsequently partners, including the headstrong Yuvraj
Singh, whose unbeaten 85 enabled the pair to add 163 for the fifth
wicket," he noted. "Sachin Tendulkar's heroic status will be
implanted even more firmly on India's psyche after he dedicated his stunning
last-day performance in the first Test match to the victims of the Mumbai
atrocities," former England skipper Mike Atherton wrote in 'The Times'.
He also felt that England
did the right thing to return for the Test series and the sight of a
three-quarter full MA Chidambaram Stadium was a welcome sign."The people of Chennai, after initial uncertainty, had come out in
force despite heavy security, with about 95,000 spectators watching a game that
proved Test cricket still has a future in India," 'The Guardian' reported.
"Sachin Tendulkar's outrage over the terrorist murders in his home city
of Mumbai has been the most
enduring image of the Chennai Test. His defiant words have felt like an address
to the nation," the newspaper added.However, it also took a dig at the pitch which according to the newspaper,
was 'full of craters.'
"Their (India)
victory should have been out of the question on a pitch so full of craters that
it resembled pictures sent back from India's
recent moon mission - perhaps the Indian government really did film an old
Chepauk pitch and the whole mission was a con?"
The media, meanwhile, blamed England
for losing the Test from a seemingly dominant position."England
have only themselves to blame for losing after a near collective failure of
nerve saw their dominant position crumble to nought on the final two
days," observed 'The Daily Telegraph'.
And Kevin Pietersen bore the brunt of Pringle's attack, who felt the
skipper's field placements often defied logic."As an inveterate ball follower, Kevin Pietersen was complicit in this,
shifting his fielders every time Tendulkar found a gap. A fidgety man, perhaps
we should not be surprised when Pietersen's captaincy follows suit, but such
fluidity can be unsettling for bowlers as it betrays the lack of a plan,"
Pringle wrote.
Atherton, though, was sympathetic towards Pietersen who lost his first Test
since becoming the captain in August this year.The former England
skipper believes Pietersen, who played the first Test despite a cracked rib but
insisted he will be fit for the second Test in Mohali, needs to confront a few
problems.
"Pietersen has some problems to resolve before Friday, principally how England
are going to take 20 wickets to level the series. James Anderson and Stephen
Harmison were out-bowled by Zaheer Khan and Ishan Sharma with new ball and old,
and Monty Panesar looks woefully short of his best form," Atherton wrote
in 'The Times'.
"Stuart Broad is fit again after a hamstring injury and may come into
contention in conditions that will favour the fast bowlers more than Chennai,
as may Adil Rashid, the 20-year-old Yorkshire leg spinner."
But Atherton felt question should be raised about England's
on-field frailties after they let opportunities slip during India's
second innings.
'The Guardian' too raised doubts about England's
bowling. "An England
attack worth its salt should have won this match but instead the bowling
performance was as disappointing as anything produced in the 5-0 defeat in the
one-day series," it reported.