London: The English media on Sunday showered fulsome praise on the Indian team after it had scored a sensational victory against the hosts at the Lord's on Saturday, saying the win would give "steel and confidence" to the side.

"Winning this final especially after being at the losing end for most of the game, will give steel and confidence to the side which can be expected to surface in the Test series," 'The Sunday Telegraph', said.

Describing it as a stunning game of cricket, but a bitter pill to swallow for Nasser Hussain and his team, 'The Observer' said, "In the past many (of the Indians) have enchanted us with the wristy magic of their batsmen. This Indian side contains plenty of those, but there is also a steel and an athleticism that was often absent from their predecessors."

"This was exemplified by Yuvraj Singh and Mohammed Kaif, who fashioned the crucial partnership when their side appeared to be out of the contest."

The memory of this game, the 'Sunday Telegraph' said, would certainly be alive on February 26 next year when England meets India in its World Cup qualifying match in Durban.

"England's bowlers, in particular, won't need reminding of the day when they had so many runs to play with and gambled them all away: India was 146 for five in its 24th over, its last specialist batsmen at the wicket, yet still won with two wickets and three balls to spare."

Saurav Ganguly was thrilled with India's win, and 'cheekily took his revenge on Andrew Flintoff by taking his shirt off and waving it round his head'. Flintoff had similarly gone topless when England levelled the series 3-3 in New Delhi in February.

Ganguly led the celebrations by going into the crowd and asking for a supporters' flag. The MCC had stuffily issued a ban on flags and klaxons but it was ignored by many of the Indians in the capacity 30,000 crowd, the 'Sunday Times' said.

India did a lap of honour and its pace spoke of joy and adrenaline, for it had not previously won a final in nine attempts and had been in trouble almost throughout.

"Undeterred, and led by the younger element in a spirited touring party, the Indians charged across the line in thrilling style and the crowd rose to them. "Nor did India depend upon it champions to secure its famous win, for Sachin Tendulkar failed with the bat and Rahul Dravid was butter-fingered and incontestably human.

Rather, it was Mohammed Kaif and Yuvraj Singh who caused such merriment among supporters that they were quite beside themselves," the newspaper said.

Extras:
Indian media hails national team's phenomenal win
India stuns England to lift NatWest series trophy
Lord's win erased painful memories: Ganguly