Cricket: Mohammed Siraj leads India to ‘one of the greatest’ Test match victories over England
Thrilling series ends with final day drama at The Oval
Five Tests, 25 days of play, and none of that could have prepared us for what was in store on the final day of a thrilling series between two cricketing greats at The Oval in London on Monday morning, when India defied the betting odds to clinch an unlikely victory.
When the umpires sent Ben Stokes’ and Shubman Gill’s sides to the change room on Day 4 due to bad light, the writing seemed to be on the wall for the visitors, with England needing just 35 runs on the final day to win the match and the series 3-1.
However, on Monday morning, virtually every individual involved with the Indian team, including physios, kit men, and support staff, all joined the huddle on the field before the day's play began, a move that seemingly lit a fuse within the belly of the Men in Blue.
Despite Jamie Overton smashing the first two balls of the day for fours to reduce the target to 27 runs, the Bharat Army grew even louder, and their heroes responded in a massive way, led by an inspired Mohammed Siraj, tearing in from the pavilion end.
Siraj knocked over Overton, Jamie Smith, and Gus Atkinson, while Prasidh Krishna dismissed Josh Tongue in quick succession, earning their side a six-run victory - their narrowest in a Test match, surpassing their 13-run triumph over Australia in Mumbai back in 2004.
From a neutral's perspective, the 2-2 outcome was an accurate reflection of how this series went. England have now failed to beat India in their last four Test series dating back to 2018, while India managed to avoid a third series defeat in succession following losses to New Zealand and Australia.
Siraj stars for India in Bumrah’s absence
One of the biggest concerns for India coming into this series was the fitness of Jasprit Bumrah, who confirmed that he will only be able to feature in three matches due to his workload management following an injury sustained during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the start of the year.
The world's best fast bowler in Tests filled his three-match allotment by game four, but notably, The Men in Blue lost two and drew one of the games he was involved in. Mohammed Siraj was entrusted with leading the visitors' bowling attack in this series, and he certainly rose to the task.
Siraj ended the final Test with nine wickets, taking him to a tally of 23 scalps for this series, which is the joint-most for an Indian bowler in a five-day series in England, level with Bumrah’s achievement during the 2021-22 season.
Together with Prasidh Krishna, the pair became only the second Indian duo to take four or more wickets in both innings of a Test and the first since Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann in the Patuadi Trophy back in 2012-13.
India will return home later this week before starting preparations for the 2025 Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates next month, while England will shift their focus to the limited-overs game, with three ODIs and three T20Is against South Africa on the horizon.
