Chris Tremlett further enhanced his reputation, justified the timing of his selection and poured balm on the troubled spirit of the England team but it was India who duly left Trent Bridge jubilant and one drawn game away from winning their third Test series in England since Douglas Jardine’s team locked horns with C. K. Nayudu’s in 1932. An opening partnership of 47 by Wasim Jaffer and Dinesh Karthik proved sufficient insurance against something truly sensational but Tremlett’s three wickets in five overs delayed India’s fifth win in 15 series and 47 matches in this country.

Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly, the captain and his predecessor, embraced in the middle after a yorker from Tremlett had bounced past the leg stump from a foothold for the winning four byes. Both had played significant roles in India’s last Test victory in England, at Headingley in 2002, but only the wins at the Oval in 1971 and at Lord’s and Headingley in 1986 led to series wins. The heat generated by well-directed short-pitched fast bowling yesterday morning left them in no doubt that India’s exceptional all-round performance could easily be avenged by England in the third and last Test starting at the Brit Oval a week tomorrow.

India have made a recent habit of winning early Tests in a series only to relinquish their lead, most recently in South Africa this year, but they are now officially favourites to win. If Matthew Hoggard were fit to return there it would redress the slight imbalance between the teams in the quality of the swing bowling and certainly in experience but the fact that he did not play for Yorkshire yesterday means that he has missed the last chance in the county’s fixture list to prove that he has recovered from his back injury.

Drier conditions at last might mean less conventional swing, more spin and reverse swing in Kennington, but in the absence of Andrew Flintoff the odds are that an unchanged twelve will be named by England’s selectors this weekend, despite James Anderson’s one for 157 and misdirected fury here. Tremlett’s six for 92 in the match, Michael Vaughan’s magnificent second-innings century and Monty Panesar’s four wickets in conditions giving him little help were all signs that England will not lightly relinquish their proud recent home record: unbeaten since 2001.

The fact is that they were outplayed in this game from the moment that Vaughan lost a toss that both captains agreed was “important but not crucial”. That the start was delayed on the first day meant that India did not have to bat when conditions were at their toughest but the determined opening partnership of 147 that followed on Saturday effectively decided the game. It enabled Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar to demonstrate the judgment and patience that England’s prime batsmen had lacked against Zaheer Khan’s superbly controlled swing.

It was not so easy for them yesterday. Ryan Sidebottom again bowled well without luck, but it was Tremlett’s exceptional height and an action making the most of his 6ft 7in that fluttered the dovecot from the moment that he began to exploit a little unevenness of bounce from the Radcliffe Road End. Jaffer top-edged a hook in a gentle parabola to gully, Karthik got a brute of a ball that lifted and left him and Tendulkar was smartly taken at knee height by the backward short leg so shrewdly placed by Vaughan to ensnare him.

This was bowling as menacing as Stephen Harmison’s and every bit as accurately aimed as Harmison on a good day. In defeat, that at least was a considerable consolation for the losing team.

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