Mohammed Siraj helped India pull off an incredible fightback win in the ENG vs IND 5th Test at The Oval and in the process salvage the five-match series with a 2-2 draw.
In the absence of Bumrah, Siraj once again led from the front taking a fifer during England’s second innings and finished with a match-haul of nine wickets.
In the aftermath of his heroics, he was questioned by a journalist about his performance in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) earlier this year compared to his recent performance.
However, Siraj with a smile on his face gave a savage response to silence any criticism.
Speaking in the post-match press-conference, Siraj said, “In BGT also I took 20 wickets and since Jassi Bhai was attacking my primary role was to keep on the pressure. I tried to give my hundred percent and focused on the process.”
Notably, Siraj finished as the top wicket-taker in the England series with 23 scalps from nine innings at an average of 32.43.
Mohammed Siraj earns player of the match award after helping India secure series draw
The 31-year-old put up an incredible bowling performance, finishing as the top wicket-taker of the series with 23 wickets in nine innings.
With India coming into Day 5 defending a mere 35 runs and four wickets to take, all the odds were stacked against the visitors. However, Siraj rose to the occasion again and took three of the remaining four scalps which also earned him the Player of the Match award.
While India might not have churned out a series win, it was an audacious display of cricket by a younger side led by new Test skipper Shubman Gill. The team showed incredible character to navigate the challenges in English conditions and were in the contest till the last in all the games.
Apart from his captaincy, Gill delivered with the bat as well. He finished as top-scorer of the series with 754 runs 10 innings at an impressive average of 75.40, which includes four centuries. Gill’s next assignment as leader will be a two-Test home series against the West Indies in October later this year.