India captain Sourav Ganguly heaped praise on six-wicket hero Ashish Nehra for his bravery after his country's 82-run victory over England in Durban.
Ganguly (left) relied on injured Nehra for win
Nehra fought off pain from a swollen ankle to bowl 10-straight overs, taking the wickets of Nasser Hussain and Michael Vaughan along the way.
And his final figures of 6-23 were the third best ever recorded at a World Cup.
"Ashish's ankle was pretty swollen," said Ganguly.
"It was down to his sheer determination that he wanted to play - hats off to him. I just kept telling him he had to bowl 10 overs straight and it was up to him how he did it."
Nehra paid tribute to the Indian team physio for getting him in shape to play.
I always intended to bat first because we have played here before and I knew that the ball always seams around at night
"I have been working with my physio Andrew Leipus for the last two days and it was down to him that I made it," he said after being named man of the match.
"I really wanted to play because it was a big game. I wanted to bowl a good line and length as there was plenty of bounce in the wicket."
Ganguly, who won the toss and opted to bat first, admitted that winning the toss was a factor in the victory.
"I always intended to bat first because we have played here before and I knew that the ball always seams around at night," he said.
"It was an outstanding win. Ever since we lost to Australia in the first game, we have picked it up.
"We have a fair chance of qualifying now and we'll celebrate tonight."