India pacer Mohammed Siraj was at his absolute best in the recently-concluded five-match Test series against England. The series ended in a 2-2 draw after Shubman Gill and co pulled off a thrilling six-run victory in the fifth Test at The Oval. On Day 5 of the fifth Test, England needed 35 runs more to win the match but had only four wickets in hand. Siraj and Prasidh Krishna brought India back into the game and bundled out England, when they were seven runs short.
Gus Atkinson was at the strike while an injured Chris Woakes, who was batting with just one hand, was standing at non-striker’s end, when England needed seven runs and had only one wicket left. On the last delivery of the previous over, Atkinson took a single to not let an injured Woakes take the strike.
As Siraj came to bowl the next over, millions of hearts started beating. Atkinson was batting at 17 and had also hit a maximum. The situation was very tensed for India but what happened next, became the most memorable moment of the entire series.
Siraj struck on the first delivery and knocked out Atkinson’s off-stump, propelling India to a six-run victory. Sri Lankan umpire Kumar Dharmasena, who on-field during the match, took to Instagram and shared a picture of that moment.
“So lucky to witness this ball from the best seat in the house,” wrote Dharmasena in the caption.
The England tour marked one of Siraj’s finest outings in Test cricket, topping the wicket-charts with 23 wickets and running throughout the series like a warrior for over 185 overs, undeterred, never tired.
While the pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah played only three Tests owing to his workload management, it was Siraj who unleashed his ‘Miyan Magic’ when his beloved ‘Jassi Bhai’ needed some rest. Notably, Siraj was the only bowler from India and just the second in the series to play all the five Tests.
Following his exceptional performance in The Oval Test, Siraj gained his career-best ratings of 674 points, in the ICC Men’s Test Bowler Rankings on Wednesday.
Player of the Match in the fifth Test, Siraj climbed 12 places to grab 15th spot in the latest ICC Men’s Test Bowler Rankings.
This is Siraj’s highest ever position in the Test ranking, after churning out match-winning spells in the final Test against England.
(With agency inputs)
