Labelling Mohammed Siraj as a ‘workhorse’ seems derogatory at this point. The right-arm pacer has ‘heart.’ That’s what everyone keeps harping about. But Siraj has shown time and again he’s more than that. There aren’t many who seam the ball as much as he does. He swings it as well. And yes, he’ll give you long spells. In some cases, more than once a day.
Siraj rips the workhorse tag apart
Siraj was physically hampered by the time the Old Trafford Test ended. His ankle was hurt; he was also limping. But Siraj insisted on playing at the Oval in hopes that India would level the series at 2-2. He wore a leg sleeve and looked gassed as Harry Brook wreaked havoc on Day 4. Despite all of this, Siraj bowled 22 overs. India only bowled 62.3 overs. That’s more than 33%.
Siraj didn’t care about how much pain it caused. It didn’t matter that by the end of the day, he couldn’t walk straight; he steamed in time after time with the hope of taking India across the line. He passed Ben Duckett bat uncountable times. Joe Root and his front pad somehow survived. For all the work Siraj did, the results just didn’t come out in his favour.
Siraj takes India to a miracle victory at the Oval
Akash Deep and Prasidh Krishna gave Siraj and India some hope. England still needed 35 runs and had 4 wickets in hand with Jamie Smith there. There wasn’t much chance of victory. Gus Atkinson and Jamie Overton can bat very well. But Siraj had other thoughts in mind.
Prasidh was hit for 2 fours in the first over, and the match further went towards England. But Siraj wasn’t going to rest. He got Smith, who looked tentative during his stay from last evening to this morning. He induced several edges. One fell in front of KL Rahul at second slip; another went in the vacant area towards cover point.
But India now had hope. All because of Siraj. Prasidh bowled tight lines and Siraj struck in his second over, trapping Overton in front of the wicket. England now had just 2 wickets left and 20 runs to get. One of these was Chris Woakes, who would have to bat left-handed with one arm in his shirt due to his dislocated left shoulder.
Atkinson and Josh Tongue got the target down to 17 when Prasidh clean bowled the latter. Just 1 wicket left. India was oh so close. Siraj had the ball in hand now. It was all on him to end it. Atkinson swung hard, but Akash Deep failed to take a very difficult catch at long-on, and worse, he palmed the ball over the boundary for a maximum. Now, 11 runs are needed.
A single on the last ball through a bye kept Atkinson on strike. 10 are required to win for England. In the next two overs, both ran 3 runs. Siraj took on the mark, 7 runs left, and bowled a perfect yorker to knock the stumps out of the ground. India claims one of their best victories in Test cricket, all because of one man, Mohammed Siraj.
