New Delhi [India], August 10 : Mohammed Siraj was India's workhorse in the gripping five-match Test series against England, finishing as the highest wicket-taker with 23 scalps. Playing every single Test, the pacer charged in tirelessly, giving everything for the team from the first ball to the last.
Akash Deep, who shared the new ball with him in the series, was full of praise for his bowling partner.
"Playing continuously for five Test matches, and so much effort till the last match is really commendable, and everyone has witnessed that. So much effort was bound to bring a positive result," Akash said to Boria Majumdar on Revsportz
Asked whether this was the best he had seen Siraj bowl, Akash offered an insightful take.
"Given how much I have seen him play, I cannot say this was the best, but he definitely had a different mindset. He wanted us to keep believing that we were going to do it. He gave us constant confidence that we would take wickets. In Test matches sometimes, the confidence goes down because we cannot apply T20 tactics, but Siraj kept showing us a positive, confident body language even in those times when the way forward was unknown," he explained.
Siraj emerged as the leading wicket-taker in the series, taking 23 wickets at an average of over 32, with two five-wicket hauls and a four-fer to his name. He also bowled around 185 overs, the most by a bowler in the series. At The Oval, it was Siraj who delivered a comeback spell, reducing England from a dominant position of 301/4 to 367 all out while chasing 374, bowling brilliantly and relentlessly in tandem with Prasidh Krishna.
Coming to the match, 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.
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