Pietersen compares crowd’s glow to Ashes series of 2005

With England needing nine wickets to topple the world’s No 1 side, thousands of fans lined the streets of St John’s Wood from the early hours of the morning, snapping up 25,227 tickets.

The public clamour for a piece of the action, not to mention the calibre of the opposition, has not been seen in this country since that famous series six years ago.

“Obviously this is a huge series for both teams and for the public,” said Pietersen after James Anderson’s five-wicket haul saw the tourists dismissed for 261 on the final day.

“Potentially, this is as big (as 2005). You can see that from the number of people who turned up.

“As we drove here the lads were commenting on the number of people outside.

“For us as players it’s magnificent that the public thinks it’s such a big series and hopefully we can get another full house at Trent Bridge now. It’s going to be a huge summer and a huge series with the crowds showing such interest.”

Pietersen did identify one major difference between India and Australia, adding, with tongue in cheek: “It’s different to playing Australia, there’s a genuine hatred between the English and the Australians.

“It’s totally different for us playing in an Ashes series but with the public interest, it’s going to be pretty similar for them.”

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni felt his side’s chances in the match were hampered from the moment lead bowler Zaheer Khan went down with a hamstring injury on day one.

He did not bowl again in the match and is a major concern for the second Test in Nottingham on Friday.

“It became quite tough for us after losing Zaheer Khan in the first session on the first day,” said Dhoni. “It was very difficult to bowl with three bowlers.

“We just needed that one extra bowler and things could’ve been different.”