London [UK], August 4 : Following India's series-drawing win against England at The Oval by six runs, former Indian all-rounder Sanjay Bangar hailed pacer Mohammed Siraj for his "all heart, all passion" nine wicket haul and added that any doubts about skipper Shubman Gill leading India have been removed following such a fine performance with the bat.
Gill (774 runs with four centuries) and Siraj (23 wickets) stood out in an all-round performing Indian unit as leading run-getter and leading-wicket-taker respectively, helping a Team India in transition, without their senior stalwarts Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin, pull off a series draw which looks as good as a series win, keeping in mind how well India played in every match and took it to the final day.
Speaking on 'Match Centre Live' after the match, JioStar expert Bangar spoke on Siraj's nine-wicket haul, including his five-wicket haul in the second innings, which helped reduce England from 317/4 to 367 all out while chasing 374. He also noted Siraj's ability to bowl out long spells and be effective with the old ball.
"It is all heart, it is all passion, it's all skill. And all of that coming together with that commitment to put his body on the line for the team, no matter what. Siraj is always a guy who's going to put his hand up and do the difficult yards. He does not always get the new ball but is happy to bowl with the older ball and happy to bowl long spells, whether it is the first or the last session, or whether the team is in deficit or looking to bowl a team out. I think you put any situation in front of him, and he puts his hand up and just wants the ball in his hand. And the way he runs with that sort of energy and that sort of wicket-taking mindset- you are certainly fortunate to have a bowler of that class, ability and mindset, which can not only deliver individual performances but also unite the team and forge them to do special things," he added.
Speaking on Gill, he said that while the batter is performing well in his primary role, captaincy is something "you learn on the go" and there is never a "perfect captain".
"Victories like these also lessen the burden of scrutiny as you settle into the job. So from that perspective, going unscathed in his first series and making sure that India never gave up and played as a united front where every player stepped up, obviously the combination part can certainly get better once he starts to believe what the things are that are required to win a series and take a few bolder steps," he said.
"That will come with time, and I think that is why scoring those mammoth tallies in his very first Test series as captain also means something. Maybe someone like the great Sunil Gavaskar, when he took up the Indian team, or Virat Kohli, when captaincy came to him, all of them had fabulous first Test series as captain, and then went on to lead India for a long, long time. So from that perspective, I think this is brilliant from Shubman Gill," he added.
Bangar said that the result is going to give "great belief" to the unit.
"Siraj, for that matter, or KL Rahul or Yashasvi Jaiswal or Washington Sundar or Ravindra Jadeja, all of them at some point in the series, knew that they had to stretch their resources mentally and physically. But now, having understood what they can achieve once pushed to the wall and still choosing to stand back or rise after every fall, I think this is a quality that has been the defining factor of all the members who participated in this series. And going forward, I believe that this is going to stand them in good stead when they play more challenging situations, more challenging matches in the future," he concluded.
After England opted to bowl first, they reduced India to 153/6. A 58-run partnership between Karun Nair (57 in 109 balls, with eight fours) and Washington Sundar (26 in 55 balls, with three fours) was the most meaningful part of the inning as India was bundled out for 224 runs. Apart from Gus Atkinson's five-wicket haul, Josh Tongue (3/57) was also good.
In the second innings, four-fers from Siraj (4/86) and Prasidh Krishna (4/62) reduced England to 247, despite a 92-run opening stand between Zak Crawley (64 in 57 balls, with 14 fours) and Ben Duckett (43 in 38 balls, with five fours and two sixes) and a fifty by Harry Brook (53 in 64 balls, with five fours and a six). They led by 23 runs.
In India's second innings, key contributions came from Yashasvi Jaiswal (118 in 164 balls, with 14 fours and two sixes), Akash Deep (66 in 94 balls, with 12 fours), Ravindra Jadeja (53 in 77 balls, with five fours) and Washington Sundar (53 in 46 balls, with four boundaries and four sixes). Sundar stitched a very crucial 10th wicket stand with Krishna, with the latter scoring nothing out of it and Sundar doing all the hitting. They all took India to 396 runs, giving them a 373-run lead and setting a target of 374 runs for England to win the series.
India started well, reducing England to 106/3. However, fine centuries from Harry Brook (111 in 98 balls, with 14 fours and two sixes) and Joe Root (105 in 152 balls, with 12 fours) troubled India with a 195-run stand for the fourth wicket. At one point, England was 317/4 on day four. However, a late surge by Siraj (5/104) and Krishna (4/126) shifted the pressure to England, and they were left six runs short, bundled out for 367 runs.
The series is drawn 2-2, reflecting the true nature of how well-fought the series was. The Shubman Gill era has started with immense promise and fight, giving signs of a bright future.
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