It is a story often told in fairytales. Or, perhaps, shown in movies. Rising from the dead and running away with the prize. That is exactly what England have done on their tour to India. The teams meet in the fourth test starting from Thursday in Nagpur, but with England in the unexpected situation of having an unassailable lead.
If critics thought the win in Mumbai was a fluke, England certainly proved them wrong with another crushing performance in Kolkata. A seven-wicket win resulted from a supreme batting show by captain Alastair Cook and a well-rounded performance by the bowlers.
With India fighting to recover lost ground now, the score line has sent ripples across the country with criticism coming from all corners. It has at least prompted the selectors to take a couple of bold decisions after persisting with the same squad for the Kolkata test.
Amongst the notable changes, fast bowler Zaheer Khan has been dropped for the first time in five years after struggling to pick up wickets. Also out of the team are the two comeback Singhs - Yuvraj and Harbhajan - who failed to put up a strong case for themselves.
Their spots are taken up by uncapped Ravindra Jadeja who has scored two triple-centuries this season, fast bowler Parvinder Awana and leg spinner Piyush Chawla.
England, on the other hand, are eyeing a piece of history as they look to become the first English side to win in India since David Gower conquered the soil in 1984.
Alastair Cook has shown the signs of being the similar gritty leader in his first series as captain having marshaled his troops to perfection. He himself is in rich form, having scored in excess of 500 runs this series and will be the key man to watch out for.
Amongst the bowlers, Monty Panesarās liking for the Indian batsmen will face another test as he looks to grab more wickets.
The match starts at 9.30am local time.