When Mohammed Siraj held on to a Harry Brook catch with one of his legs on the boundary rope on Day 4 of the fifth Test, everyone through the game was gone from India’s hands. But one person believed and vowed to do it himself was Siraj. With just 35 runs to defend on the fifth and final day and four wickets to take, Siraj not only kept his word but took three wickets on Monday morning to win the game for India and save the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2-2.
“To be honest, it feels amazing. We wanted to fight hard from Day 1 and to see this result is great. The plan was to keep it simple and hit one spot. When I woke up today I believed that I could do it. I took a picture of “Believe” from google and set it as a wallpaper on Monday morning. I told myself I will change the game myself,” said Siraj after India defeated England by 6 runs at The Oval.
Siraj, finished the game with nine wickets including five-wicket haul in the second innings. Siraj, who was the only Indian pacer to play all the five Tests, finished with 23 wickets in the series. If statistics are to be taken care off, Siraj bowled more than 1000 deliveries in this series.
What happened on Day 5 of India vs England 5th Test?
After resuming on 339/6, England lost four wickets for 28 runs on the final morning of a dramatic series. But England were soon 354/8, 20 runs shy of victory, after Siraj, the leading bowler on either side this series, struck twice to remove Jamie Smith and Jamie Overton.
When injured England last man Chris Woakes came into bat with his left-arm strapped up owing to an injured shoulder, England still needed 17 more runs for victory. Gus Atkinson hit a six off Siraj before England got the target down to single figures.
But Siraj set the seal on a superb series by bowling Atkinson (17) as he knocked over the batsman’s off stump to spark delirious scenes among the India team and their supporters in south London.
India were without Jasprit Bumrah at the Oval after deciding to stand by a decision to only play the world’s top-ranked Test bowler in three games of this five-match series — a figure the fast bowler reached during last week’s drawn fourth Test at Old Trafford.
