Rahul Dravid had every right to sport a broad grin after India romped to a seven-wicket win in the second Test.
"We've not won very often in England, so every win is special. The boys played good tough cricket, and they truly deserved to win. Bouncing back after Lord's was credit to the whole team,” said the Indian captain. “Whenever we go abroad, everyone expects very little of us, everytime we win is going to be a big thing.
“But I think expectations have increased over the last 4-5 years. People do expect us to come and perform, and we ourselves expect to come here and perform. We don't come here just to be another team.
‘Critical strike’
Dravid termed the wicket of Michael Vaughan with the second new ball as a critical one. "It was a critical part of the game. The new ball had to count. Batting wasn't going to be easy and they had two key batsmen at the crease, especially Michael batting fantastically well.
“I told the boys not to get too excited. There was still something in the wicket and we needed to be patient. Zaheer responded beautifully, and I don't think we looked back."
Such wins, Dravid said, would help the youngsters in the team. "We have won Tests everywhere we've toured, won a few series as well. The improvement is not as quick as we would all have liked, not as emphatic, but they are small steps. You can take some heart from every win.
“Getting international success away from home early in the youngsters' career will spur them on as they get senior, and inspire them to do much better whenever they come back,” he said.
Backing it up
Dravid also stressed the importance of backing up this performance at the Oval. "We have got to follow up good performances with some more good performances.
“We'll celebrate, but keep our minds focussed on the Oval and try and win the series. We know England will come back hard," he said.
He also patted openers Wasim Jaffer and Dinesh Kaarthick. "To respond the way they did, to add 147 and set up the game for the middle order, that was critical," he said.
On the Zaheer jelly bean incident, Dravid said, "As captains, we have a responsibility to ensure things don't get out of hand. It's been a bit blown up as well and it's been close. We have a huge amount of respect for a lot of the English players -- I personally have a lot of respect for Michael.
“I'm sure we'll be trying to play some tough cricket at the Oval, without a doubt, but try and ensure it doesn't cross the line."
Needed, an encore!
Then, he added only half in jest, “If he's going to perform like this, can we please get him (Zaheer) upset before every game! I would be more than happy to get him upset. I've never seen him as fired up, he came into the dressing-room really keyed up.”
Dravid had a word of encouragement for the struggling Sreesanth. “We would like him to perform well. He has a great example in Zaheer.
“He just has to look across and see what Zaheer has done in this Test for us. I think he's controlled his aggression – Zaheer's been as aggressive as anyone else without going over the top, and sticking to performing. “Sree is going to learn along the way. It is a part of our responsibility to see that he learns."