CRICKET:Sixty years on from independence, this should be India's day of triumph, the one on which Rahul Dravid's men can take their place alongside those of Ajit Wadekar in 1971 and Kapil Dev in 1986 as the only teams from that country to come to England and win a Test series. Whether it is by a single match, thanks to that won at Trent Bridge, or by the two-match margin that was managed by Kapil's tourists, will depend on how well India's bowlers perform today and how much resilience the England batting can summon.

England closed last night on 56 without loss in pursuit of precisely 500 to level the series: how cricketers like to do things in round figures. It is only a notional target, given the time allowed them by Dravid's second-innings declaration shortly before 5pm. Five runs an over for an entire Test day is surely beyond reason against such accomplished bowlers.

To survive, though, England must first overcome the swing bowling of Zaheer Khan, a probable for man of the series, who was shaping the ball this way and that under cloudy skies as the lacquer left the new ball and a deep mahogany shine began to appear.

Then they must overcome the wrist spin of the great Anil Kumble on a last-day pitch.

Should England draw the match there may be those in India who even in the euphoria of the series win will accuse Dravid of conservatism in his decision not to enforce the follow-on after finishing off England's first innings for 345 within half an hour of the start, giving him a lead of 319.

The alternative, though, to bat again despite the huge advantage already achieved, was attractive. There was, he and his lieutenants would have reasoned, no imperative to force the issue simply for the sake of it as there might have been had the sides been level, or the advantage been England's.

Two-nil would be nice and, he would have known last night, is still the probable outcome. But if not, 1-0 is not the shabbiest.

So bat again he did.

His side found themselves in immediate trouble against James Anderson, bowling with as much fire as he can ever have shown for England. He was fortunate to trap Wasim Jaffer lbw, but there was no doubting his dismissal of Sachin Tendulkar.

Tendulkar was cheered to the echo as he came to the crease for the final time in a Test here, the ball taking the inside edge of his bat as he drove and careering into the stumps, detonating from the ground middle and leg stumps.