On Saturday, the day of the second India-England One-day International, most Indian fans started their celebrations well in advance.
The Kondor Kingsbury, a northwest London Indian cricket fan group, opened their first bottle of champagne on the tube on the way down. They had already consumed 10 bottles by the time England completed their innings.
Two of them were dressed in kurtas adorned with the colours of the Indian flag, as they were not allowed to bring flags inside.
"India normally struggle on UK wickets but we have found a match-winner in our team in the form of Kuldeep. English batsmen have no clue what he is bowling," said Kenya-born Shiv Halai, 36, a company director who lives in London. "Normally the weather is cooler and not that great for spinners. When the sun is out, England struggle to handle India's bowlers. These conditions are a spinners' paradise."
Cheers reverberated when England lost their first wicket. There was not a single empty seat in the historic stadium. Touts had been selling tickets for four times the face value outside because as, one British tout said, "India are the greatest ODI team in the world."
Many Indian fans were frustrated they could not wave flags or play the dhol inside
Lord's
, but some had flags stuffed in their bags, with a plan to get them out if India won. "I have been to all the stadiums and you can take drums and flags everywhere, except here. It helps create an atmosphere but without drums we are just as loud," Halai said and then burst into his group's chant: "Everyone wants to know where we come from…mighty, mighty India."
Whilst the game was on, hundreds of fans sat outside in the food market area eating ice cream, chips and burgers and watching the cricket on a screen.
"The weather, the heat, it is perfect bowling conditions for India," Halai said. "When India bats, every run, every bat gets cheered. As long as the conditions stay as they are, India will do very well in the Test series."
"England does not know how to play spin," said Kenya-born Dipak Shah, 57, who works in IT. "Youth cricket in England does not have the right bowlers. It is seen as an elitist sport in England. In India people play in the park and it is a way out of poverty."
At the interval,
Chris Harrison
, 56, a farmer from Norfolk, was hopeful England would win. "We had a tremendous series win over Australia in the ODI. It is just a shame that Buttler got out."
British-born Indian-origin Rishi Nag came to the match with his six-year-old daughter. Both of them supported England. "It's because I grew up in Leicestershire watching
David Gower and Phillip DeFreitas," the 42-year-old said.
The Bharat Army had brought 200 members as well as home-made samosas and handvos. "For us cricket defines colonization and so we have to support India on that basis," said UK-born Dhru Patel, 34, an IT manager.
"I don't support England at cricket but I do at football. I still feel culturally part of India and cricket is an Indian thing to us whereas football is English. We would all fail the Tebbit Test," said Minesh Patel, 52, a Uganda-born teacher.