Daijiworld Media Network

Ahmedabad, Nov 19 : India have won the first test against England here by 9 wickets.

The Man of the Match award went to Pujara but a lot of credit should go to Ojha as well. He was brilliant right through the game and ended up with 9 wickets in the match. India's pacers outshone their England counterparts as well. Umesh and Zaheer didn't get much out of the track but they troubled the batsmen with reverse swing. Spare a thought for Cook as well. He played a marathon knock but it wasn't enough to save the game. England can take a lot of confidence from his knock though. If they can learn from him, the series will get a lot more tighter.

The umpires have a word with Kohli after the victory. Not sure what it is about. Probably to do with his celebration after the win? But it wasn't that wild anyways. Whatever, India will be a happy team. They were made to earn the win and they did exactly that. They ran through England in the first innings but remained patient when things got tough in the second. The Cook-Prior stand was frustrating them, but they kept trying and ultimately broke through. The target was never going to trouble them.

The England players go up to shake hands with the Indians. Ojha is having a conversation with Broad and clarifying his 'send off' after Broad's dismissal. That's good to see. This was touted as a 'revenge' series but the on-field behaviour has not been too bad at all.

Cook: '500 was a good score on the wicket but we didn't do well in the first innings. It was a great fightback from us from a tough situation. There was a slight hope on the final day but it wasn't to be. We hope to start better in Mumbai. Prior and I knew we had to do a lot of work. It wasn't meant to be though. But we showed a lot of character in this Test to fight back the way it did. The pitch helped turn but it was slow spin. The runs in the first innings is very crucial in the sub-continent and we have to improve on that.'

Mahendra Singh Dhoni: 'We stuck to our plans. The spinners bowled really well in the first innings. There was low bounce in the second innings but not much turn. The bowlers had to do a lot of work as we asked them to follow on. It was a fantastic effort from the bowlers. Even if you misjudged the flight, you had time to adjust on this slow wicket. The edges were not carrying as well. What's important is to not give too many runs and we did that well. Fantastic effort from Pujara. He has a good temperament and has scored double centuries in domestic cricket. He knows how to get big scores. Ojha looks to bowl tight and never gives a lot of runs. This game he took the responsibility and did well. Overall, I'm happy with the team's effort. Everyone supported each other. The batsmen supported Pujara when he was doing well and the other bowlers supported Ojha during the bowling.'

Pujara: 'Being in Gujarat makes me feel at home. It's a great feeling. Initially the wicket was slow but as the game progressed the ball was coming onto the bat. There was slow turn so it was easy to bat.'
Pujara is the Man of the Match