Sizzling Siraj swings it India’s way

A seesawing series that kept on giving till the final day of the final Test couldn’t have ended on a better note as India completed one of their finest comebacks — their lion-hearted performer Mohammed Siraj rightfully providing the exclamation point.

The 31-year-old, digging deep into his reserves on the final morning when India needed to bag four wickets and England had to get another 35 runs to clinch the series 3-1, produced an electrifying spell to fashion a nerve-jangling six-run win for the visitors that had the sold-out crowd at The Oval rise up in pure admiration. India and England justly shared the inaugural Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2-2.

The air was thick with tension in this South London venue as all four results were a possibility in a series where every match had gone into the final hour and both teams had traded blows in equal measure. Almost two hours before the start of play, fans had started to make their way into the historic venue which has been a theatre to several epic battles. What was supposed to be a busy Monday morning looked like a sporting Sunday afternoon. And they were not disappointed as Siraj (5/104) and Prasidh Krishna (4/126) dished out riveting performances that will be spoken about for a long time to come.

The start was a bit anti-climactic though, as Jamie Overton pulled the first ball he faced from the incomplete Prasidh over for a boundary and then inside-edged the next one. And just like that the equation was reduced to 27 runs. It looked like England had come out with a definitive plan — Overton to play the big shots early on and reduce the margin as much as possible, and Jamie Smith to hold the other end up. The plan worked in the first three balls and India started to feel the jitters.

Siraj, who has toiled hard the entire series without the acknowledgement he deserves, refused to give up, giving a sensational start. He beat the dangerous Smith two straight times before getting him finally off the third ball. He could have had another, but Gus Atkinson’s edge fell just short of KL at second slip. Such was the level at which Siraj was operating, he was literally unplayable as batter after batter swung and missed his impeccable out-swingers. Every ball he bowled had a wicket written on it. It was tense, a game certainly not for the weak-hearted.

Siraj then had his second scalp, umpire Kumar Dharmasena taking an eternity before raising his index finger to rule Jamie Overton out. Siraj was all pumped up and breathing fire. His energy rubbed off onto Prasidh, who sent back Josh Tongue with a 142 kmph bullet that crashed into the stumps. India were now sensing victory as Chris Woakes, with his left hand in a sling, walked out to bat to a rousing ovation with England needing 17.

The pendulum refused to stay still as Atkinson rotated the strike with Woakes, who didn’t bat a single ball. And when Atkinson smashed Siraj for a six to reduce the equation to 11, anything was possible. Somehow, England managed to keep fighting, and Atkinson took strike against Siraj with seven needed.

Siraj took a moment to soak in the magnitude. He had to deliver in this over because he too was getting tired. It was now or it’s over. Having bowled a lot of out-swingers, the Hyderabadi banked on his dangerous in-swinger. He came charging in and bowled a fast one. It was a classic ‘you miss, I hit’ ball. Atkinson missed it, the ball clattered his stumps and Siraj leapt in ‘Siuuu’ celebration before being embraced by his team-mates and support staff.

Yes is the meaning of the word ‘Siuuu’ in Portuguese. Oh yes, India completed the Miracle of The Oval. A great finish to the series and a perfect start to Shubman Gill’s reign.