Gautam Gambhir almost pulled it off again - two cenuries in a single Test, which he achieved in the previous Test series against Australia.

Having hit a magnificent 179 in the first innings, Gambhir fell for 97, just short of the rare double feat in a single Test, twice in successive Test series.

At the other end, Yuvraj Singh proved his mettle once again in Tests as he hit a wonderful 86, finally cementing his spot in the Test side following the retirement of Sourav Ganguly.

Mahendra Dhoni threw everything at the visitors, including the odd over from himself, but they held on grimly.

Having slammed Yuvraj as a "pie-chucker" after being snared by the part-time left-arm spinner 5 times, new captain Kevin Pietersen praised his batting effort after the match and lauded him as one of the cleanest strikers in cricket.

The Test series produced some exciting cricket after England decided to return to India to resume their tour following terror strikes in Mumbai.

Sachin Tendulkar delivered one of the best rearguard efforts of his career to help India win the first match, which swung the series India's way. Even Rahul Dravid managed to finally get some runs under his belt in the first innings, although he went back into his characteristic shell in the second dig.

Virender Sehwag has delivered in superb style, Zaheer Khan was selected Player of the Series, Harbhajan Singh has taken the most wickets this year, and Mahendra Dhoni has performed in useful cameos in addition to steering the side admirably.

India has finished the year off in style, clicking in every department and as a team under Dhoni. They will go into 2009 as the unofficial number 1 team in the world next year, although the controversial ICC rankings -- criticized for perennially being several years behind current form -- have them at number 2.

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