Lion-hearted Mohammed Siraj starred with his sensational five-wicket haul (5/104) as India registered a thrilling 6-run win over England in the fifth and last Test at the Oval to level the five-match series 2-2 on Monday.
Both teams entered the fifth day of Oval Test with victory in sight – England needed just 35 runs, while India required 4 wickets. But India produced a remarkable performance, led by Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna. Siraj claimed a brilliant five-wicket haul while Krishna picked up four crucial wickets to guide India to a thrilling victory in a nail-biting finish.
Speaking after the thrilling win, Mohammed Siraj said that every one in the dressing room had the belief in the dressing room.
“I would rate this highly because from the first day till now, the way we fought, it was an unbelievable fight. Each and every one in the dressing room had the belief that we will win the match from here,” said Siraj in the post-match press conference.
Interestingly, Siraj revealed that he took inspiration from a wallpaper he googled of his favourite footballer Cristiano Ronaldo before leaving for day five’s play.
“I woke up at 6 am, took this and put it as my wallpaper (a picture of Cristiano Ronaldo, titled ‘BELIEVE!’). I thought I could do it. We had momentum yesterday, soch rahe the kal hi niptaane ko (We were thinking of finishing it yesterday itself),” he said.
The 31-year-old Siraj was named player of the match for his overall match figures of 9-190. He finished as the leading wicket-taker of the series with 23 wickets.
Siraj’s brilliance with the ball which led India to spectacular win, came on the back of him stepping on the boundary rope while trying to take Harry Brook’s catch and conceded a six. Brook went on to make 111 before getting out on an ordinary shot.
“Talking about Lord’s and that Harry Brook catch… I felt mere saath hi aisa kyu. Upar waale ne kuch accha likha hoga mere liye (Why does this happen only to me? God must’ve planned something good for me), and that’s why I am at this level today. I got the last wicket and I felt really good today. If it had been taken, we might not have come out today,” concluded Siraj.
