Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy | Mohammed Siraj: India's workhorse in pace battery

To the Hyderabad quickie goes the credit of being the only fast bowler from either side to feature in all the five matches as he ended the series with 23 wickets.

At a time when fast bowlers are breaking down frequently, Mohammed Siraj's performance for India in the just concluded Anderson-Tendulkar trophy against England deserves rich accolades.

Even before the start of the gruelling five-match series in the Old Blighty, Indian think tank, in a break from tradition, publicly announced that pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah will be playing in only three Test matches as part of the workload management.

That put the onus entirely on Siraj as he rose to the occasion with a come-of-age performance.

From being in the shadows of Bumrah, to spearheading the attack in his absence and then mentoring young bunch of fast bowlers, Siraj did it all as India levelled the series with a thrilling six-run win in the fifth and final Test at the Oval.

It wan an icing on the cake when the 31-year-old Hyderabadi took a five-wicket haul (his fifth fiver in his overall Test career) in Oval to fashion India's stellar series-levelling comeback win.

Chasing 374, England were bowled out for 367, with Siraj claiming five for 104 (to go with his four-wicket haul in the first innings) including a sensational burst of three for nine on the final day's play to help India eke out a six-run win, incidentally the country's narrowest winning margin in a Test match.

To the Hyderabad quickie goes the credit of being the only fast bowler from either side to feature in all the five matches as he ended the series with 23 scalps, becoming India's leading wicket-taker while bowling a whopping 185.3 overs in all.

In the process, he also equalled the Indian record for most wickets by a bowler in a series in England with Bumrah, who had also taken 23 wickets in the previous tour in 2021-22 series.

"To be honest, it's so amazing. From day one to here, everyone fought so hard so we're very happy. I just wanted to make sure I hit the right areas, the wickets would fall, and anything else would be a bonus. When I woke up, I believed I could do it," Siraj told the host broadcaster at the end of a thrilling Test match in which pendulum swung either ways before the visitors pulled it off.

Cricket is said to be a game of glorious uncertainties and the word impossible is not a part of Siraj's dictionary as he always believed that he can win the final Test for India from any point of time.

Believe emoji

"I woke up in the morning and checked google on my phone and took out a 'Believe' emoji wallpaper and told myself that I will do it for the country," added Siraj, in his hour of glory.

In the end, it was kind of a poetic justice for Siraj as he rattled the timber of Guy Atkinson to bring the joy to Indian camp as just a day earlier it looked all doomed when he had stepped over the boundary after failing to hold on to a catch off Harry Brook (who was batting on 19 and then went on score a hundred), an error that looked likely to cost Team India, the match and the series.

Fast bowlers playing all three formats of the game is a very rare sight these days, and Siraj is an exception to it. It's now for the Board of Control for Cricket in India and the team think tank to manage the workload of this 'lion-hearted' fast bowler, who is no longer the support cast, but India's workhorse in pace battery.

(With inputs from agencies)