Why this is a win for team India

Rahul Dravid

Didn’t do much with the bat, but as experts noted, was brilliant as stand-in captain in the absence of Ganguly. Almost every single bowling change he effected resulted in a wicket, and his controversial declaration with Tendulkar six short of a double ton was also appreciated by most experts

Sachin Tendulkar

The 194 not out was worth much more than the runs. As Sehwag noted, he couldn’t have made all those runs if it hadn’t been for Tendulkar’s words of wisdom through the 336-run stand they were part of. If that wasn’t enough, he picked two wickets in the Pak first innings, including Moin’s with the ball of the match

VVS Laxman

To be honest, the only guy without much against his name, but if we are to continue harping on the psychological edge India brought into the Test series, surely it wouldn’t have been possible without Laxman’s century in the ODI series-decider at Lahore. He struck before the Test started…

Yuvraj Singh

Got a chance because Ganguly was out. Scored a 66-ball 59 when the team was looking to speed things up for the declaration. Fielded brilliantly with his run out of Inzamam being the icing on the cake. And got the wicket of dangerman Yasir Hameed in the second innings

Parthiv Patel

Some stunning takes down the leg side to prove that though he was a bit taken with the bounce in Australia, closer to home, he is as good as any behind the wickets. Plus a match haul of four catches to add to his tally

Irfan Pathan

The star of the win even if Sehwag cornered most of the attention. Irfan added to the considerable reputation garnered in Australia with an effort that put him on top of the fast bowlers’ charts in a list including Shoaib, Sami, Shabbir, Zaheer and Balaji. Six wickets was the match haul, but his contribution was a lot more than just that

Laxmipathy Balaji

The crowds missed out on a chance to watch him bat, but he did his bit with the ball to keep people excited. They won’t forget the tumbling delivery to get rid of Imran Farhat in the first innings — his only wicket — and the selectors will remember his miserly accurate bowling

Anil Kumble

Was the star of the last part of the match, with six wickets in the Pakistan second innings expediting the win. Add two more from the first innings, and no bowler would mind the stats: eight wickets in his first Test match in Pakistan. Was also surprisingly inspired fielding at gully, bringing off a few super saves

Zaheer Khan

Another one who doesn’t have the stats to show, especially because he had to sit out Pakistan’s second innings with a muscle strain. Bowled moderately well, but lion-heartedly, to pick one for 67 in the Pak first innings and was the only Indian bowler to succesfully push the Pak batters back with a liberal dose of snorters