Skipper Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly carried India past their requisite target of 73 to complete the formalities on Tuesday.
Emotional the win was, because the odds were stacked against the Indians -- the perennial Doubting Thomasses have suspected their ability to counter swing bowling, the absence of a regular coach was perceived as a major drawback and, of course, the form of many players invited endless hours of discussion.
Emphatic reply
The Indians answered all questions in emphatic style to prove their detractors wrong and go into the third Test at the Oval beginning in a week's time with oodles of confidence. In the morning, Dinesh Kaarthick and Wasim Jaffer had a job on hand of taking India home after resuming from their overnight 10 for no loss.
The openers started their work in solid fashion, avoiding all unnecessary frills. Jaffer looked calm and collected in the middle, but not hesitant to wield his willow when the bowlers offered him a chance.
It was naïve to expect to the English bowlers to pull off an enormous miracle while defending such a meagre target, but they put in a tremendous effort to delay the inevitable. Ryan Sidebottom beat the outside edge of the Indian openers a number of times, but without luck.
Tremlett strikes
Just as it appeared as if Kaarthick and Jaffer would take India past the winning post, the latter fell to paceman Chris Tremlett. He attempted a loose pull -- perhaps out of his anxiety to overhaul the target and start the celebrations -- only too see Kevin Pietersen grab a comfortable catch.
Tremlett brutally thwarted Kaarthick's ambition to be in the middle when India scripted another glorious chapter. The towering paceman found a faint outside edge and Matt Prior did not make any mistake behind the stumps.
Sachin Tendulkar entered the ground accompanied by roars and cheers, but a similar fate as that of Kaarthick awaited him as well. The master batsmen had to face a barrage of short deliveries from James Anderson and Tremlett, who let it go at the most experienced batsman in either batting line-up.
Tendulkar falls
It was Tremlett who denied Tendulkar a chance to be a part of the history for the umpteenth time. Alistair Cook latched on to Tendulkar's uppish flick at leg gully.
But those dismissals proved to be only slight distractions before India completed their tryst with the history. The one man who will remember this Test most fondly will be Zaheer Khan.
The left-arm paceman dished out an exceptional spell of swing bowling. The Mumbaikar grabbed nine wickets (9/134) in the match and it will not be an exaggeration to say that he was the difference between the two teams.
He put all the English batsmen through the wringer in this Test, displaying an uncanny ability to use the conditions and new ball alike. His dismissal of England captain Michael Vaughan was the turning point of this Test.
Rudra Pratap Singh's contribution was also no less significant. The Uttar Pradesh left-arm paceman continued his good work from the Lord's Test and picked up wickets at the right junctures to peg back the home side. Singh had given the marching orders to Pietersen with a peach of delivery on the fourth day, and the wicket was as crucial as any in this match.
The only point of concern from an otherwise brilliant bowling effort was the form of S Sreesanth. The Kerala pacer appeared to be trying too many things -- different actions, various run-ups besides his usual histrionics -- that did not help his cause.
Four wickets from as many innings at an average of 51.25 evidences the need for him to improve his act before the third Test.
With the batsmen in fine touch and the bowlers showing a lot of fire, India just need to keep their cool at The Oval to record a rare overseas series win.

SCORE BOARD
ENGLAND (I Innings): 198
INDIA (I Innings): 481
ENGLAND (II Innings): 355
INDIA (II Innings, O/n: 10/0):
Kaarthick c Prior b Tremlett 22
(79m, 56b, 3x4)
Jaffer c Pietersen b Tremlett 22
(60m, 45b, 3x4)
Dravid (not out) 11
(44m, 28b, 2x4)
Tendulkar c Cook b Tremlett 1
(16m, 15b)
Ganguly (not out) 2
(7m, 4b)
Extras (LB-6, B-4, W-2, NB-3) 15
Total (for 3 wkts, 24.1 overs) 73
Fall of wickets: 1-47 (Jaffer), 2-55 (Kaarthick), 3-62 (Tendulkar).
Bowling: Anderson 9-2-23-0, Sidebottom 8-0-28-0 (w-1), Tremlett 7.1-2-12-3 (nb-3, w-1).

NOTTINGHAM FACT FILE
*Celebrating their 75th year in Test cricket, India scored their fifth victory in England in 46 Tests.  The earlier wins were at The Oval in August 1971, Lord's in June 1986, Leeds in June 1986 and Leeds in August 2002. This was also India's 200th away Test.
*India have never lost a Test in which they have obtained a first-innings lead of over 100 runs.
*India’s 481 was only the third instance when they have posted over 450 runs in an innings without a centurion. India hold the world record for highest total without an individual hundred when they made 524 for nine decl against New Zealand at Kanpur in November 1976.
*Zaheer Khan, who won the man of the match award for the second time in his career, completed 150 Test wickets in his 49th match, becoming the ninth bowler to do so. His five for 75 in the second innings was the fifth time he had taken five-for in an innings.
*The 147-run first-wicket stand between Dinesh Kaarthick and Wasim Jaffer was the first for India in England in after 28 years. The last century partnership for the first wicket was 219 between Sunil Gavaskar and Chetan Chauhan at The Oval in September, 1979.
*This was the seventh time Sachin Tendulkar (91) was dismissed in the 90s. Michael Slater (9) holds the record for most dismissals in the 90s.
*Michael Vaughan became the 17th Englishman to complete 5000 runs in his 69th Test.
*Test Records:  England: Played 863, Won 301, Lost 251, Drawn 311.  India: Played 407, Won 91, Lost 131, Drawn 184 and Tied 1.  India’s away Record: Played 200, Won 29, Lost 84 and Drawn 87.  England’s home record: Played 439, Won 172, Lost 103 and Drawn 164.
lCaptaincy record: Vaughan (38 Tests, 22 won, 7 lost and 9 drawn). Dravid (24 Tests, 8 won, 6 lost and 10 drawn).  
Compiled by KR Gururaja Rao