LONDON: Mohammed Siraj was running in to deliver the first ball of the 86th over at Kennington Oval — his 1113th legitimate ball in what had been a marathon of a Test series between India and England. He had already become the leading wicket-taker, having bowled more overs than anyone else across 25 days of play which began at Leeds a few moons ago.
Even the spell he was on started Sunday evening and thanks to rain and bad light interruptions, he had been on 12 overs. This was his 13th. So, he could have been tired. He might not have the same energy or pace. But not Siraj. He woke up on Monday morning telling himself that he should win the game for India. He googled "believe", downloaded his idol Cristiano Ronaldo's picture with the word 'believe' and made it his phone wallpaper. He kept telling himself to believe.
And as he ran, trying to get Gus Atkinson, the last wicket of England, out, Siraj knew he was going to give everything he had got. Siraj delivered a pinpoint yorker, racing at 143 KPH — his fifth-quickest of the 1113 legitimate balls. The result? Everything he had dreamt and manifested and believed. Off-stump went for a toss and Siraj leapt in the air with his trademark Ronaldo celebration, raised his arms aloft and thanked the heavens before being embraced by his teammates. The 31-year-old pacer from Hyderabad saw India to a memorable series levelling victory, registering yet another fifer.
The script for Siraj could not have been better after what he had been through. At Lord's Siraj was heartbroken when a ball he defended rolled onto the stumps giving England a narrow victory. During England's second innings at The Oval when Joe Root and Harry Brook were running away with the match, Siraj kept thinking about how he caught the latter when he was on 19 before stepping on the boundary ropes. It made him wonder why it kept happening to him. However, the pacer's intensity didn't drop. He, in fact, was the one who believed India can still do it. Add to it, a not so impressive show by his fellow pacer Akash Deep made things more challenging for him. It only added to his workload but he remained undeterred. "From the first day to the fifth Test of the series and the fifth day of the match, the way we fought, it was an unbelievable fight. Each and everyone in the dressing room, everyone in the dressing room had the belief that we will win the match from here. Because everyone is a youngster. Everyone had the belief that we will win the match from here," the pacer told reporters after the win.
Among the pacers, only two have played in all five matches and as Chris Woakes didn't bowl in India's second innings after dislocating his shoulder on Day 1 of the fifth and final Test here at the Oval, India's Siraj remained the last man standing by the end of the long and gruelling tour that saw injuries ruling out players especially the fast bowlers. With their pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah available only for three matches due to his workload management and others like Akash Deep and Nitish Kumar Reddy getting injured during the course of the series, Siraj was the only available option for Shubman Gill and Co. And Siraj, whi finished with 23 wickets in nine innings during the series, made it count by emerging India's most potent attack and helping them level the series 2-2.
Considering his workload and the way he stepped up every single match, India's bowling coach Morne Morkel had termed Siraj outstanding on this tour after fourth day play on Sunday. England skipper Ben Stokes after the match said he has a lot of respect and admiration for Siraj. "I’ve always had great respect and admiration for Mohammed Siraj. As a competitor. He just keeps coming and coming and coming. You know he's going to be in the fight with you. Again, just another example of what it means. This game in particular, I've always had a lot of respect for the way Siraj goes about his cricket, what he does and how he takes it on," Stokes told journalists during the post-match press conference.
If the fast bowlers' performances since 2024 are taken into consideration, Siraj is there at the top — playing the most number of matches and bowling the maximum overs. He might not be the top wicket-taker during this period but the amount of overs he has bowled during this period speaks a volume about him. In this duration, Siraj featured in 19 matches, bowling 500 overs, the most by any pacer during this period, in 36 innings and claimed 62 wickets including three five-wicket hauls.
If it was England captain Stokes, who inspired his team with his crucial and marathon spells during the first four matches, it's Siraj who did the same for the visitors. What stands him out of other pacers is his longevity during the tiring and energy-sapping tour. More than a year ago, moments after Bumrah took India to T20 World Cup glory at the Kensington Oval, Barbados, Siraj was asked about what he felt and he said: "I only believe in Jassi Bhai, because he is a game-changer". On Monday, just as he walked off the field after an incredible series-levelling performance at the Kennington Oval, Siraj asked, once again, about his feelings and he said: "I always believe in myself." And this time, Siraj was indeed the game-changer for India.
