But amidst the many facets to this match, one will stand out. A fiery young man produced a bowling performance that marks him out to be special. Sreesanth ran in hard and ran in as often as the captain wanted him to and each time the ball left his hand the way he wanted it to. There is an exuberance to his being as you would expect with someone his age and that is good. But he married that to a commitment to cricketing discipline. He bowled with patience, didn’t deviate in search of magic balls and kept his head when running in with the ball. That was sometimes in contrast to what followed, and as he plays more, he will realise that bravery is in bowling the right ball, not providing the right farewell to the batsman; for once the batsman cannot compete, there is no honour in mocking him.

A fine young cricketer has arrived and now he must play with the weight of expectation that has felled many. It is what separates the champions from the challengers. He has the ability, and in good measure, now we will watch how well he can use it.

This is a moment to savour but there are two to play.