It was full. It was straight. It was off stump out of the ground. But most importantly, it was Mohammed Siraj. And it had to be Siraj because who else could it have been?
The man had been embedded in the series. Not just as a bowler or a batter but as an ever-constant presence. A pulse. Carrying the burden of a nation with 1.4 billion people on his back. Siraj was the heartbeat of India.
You could accuse him of being indifferent in the first test in Leeds. Match figures reading 2-173, going at over 4 runs an over. And the knives were out, Siraj labelled ineffective, unable to support the genius of Jasprit Bumrah. England chased 371.
Similar questions were asked of Siraj and the rest of India’s attack in Australia. Graphics of “Bumrah vs the rest” plastered over the FoxSports broadcast. And again, in England, the same story was being written.
But Siraj doesn’t stay quiet for long.
Out of the shadow of Jasprit Bumrah, he was the chief destroyer in Birmingham alongside Akash Deep, bowling India to victory. He did as Siraj does. He got in the face of batters and caused chaos. He seemed released, unshackled, no longer the understudy but the main man. In tests with Jasprit, he averages 35 flat. Without him, it drops nearly 10 runs—to just over 25. Siraj is a man who answers the call for his country. He lives for it. Breathes it in.
And then we are off to Lord’s, where Siraj was front and centre again, but this time not with ball in hand. The nation’s hopes were again pinned onto his and Ravi Jadeja’s shoulders. Siraj middled it, probably had a control percentage of 100, and still the ball found his stumps. Siraj, who leaves everything out on the cricket field, looked in disbelief at the ruins behind him. Then he stared at his batting partner to confirm what his eyes were telling him. And finally, he stood, back hunched, leaning on his bat for support.
Everything was done right, the ball defended with beautiful soft hands by a man often mocked for his batting. But it all went horribly wrong. India fell 23 runs short.
The Oval beckoned after the stalemate in Manchester. The fifth test, and once again, Siraj was everything to India.
In England’s first innings it was Siraj who cracked the game open. He ripped the guts out of the English batting, picking up Pope, Root, Brook, and Bethel. Joe Root and Ollie Pope were both beaten by that wicked wobble seam—Siraj’s now signature ball, jagging in violently after pitching. The display was marked with fire and bluster, trademark Siraj. Fire in his eyes, bowling like a man possessed.
And this was only part one. England had this chase under control. The game was gone.
The story of the series was seemingly encapsulated in one delivery. Over 34.1—Brook on 19 picks the ball up and it sails towards Siraj, the catch is taken. Job Done. But no— he steps on the boundary cushion and that’s 6. Brook goes on to score 111.
India, throughout this series had been so very close. Hanging in there would be unfair. At times, they were bossing Stokes’ England, but in the moments that mattered, Baz’s men stood up, and India would let it slip, this time literally.
But guess who was under the ball when Brook’s bat went flying out of his hand, walking back to the pavilion. Siraj.
There are no adequate ways to describe Siraj in this final innings of the series. He was everywhere. Everything. All at once.
He bowled and bowled and bowled. While the Indian team looked toothless, Siraj dragged his country back into the contest. His efforts on day 4 weren’t rewarded in the wickets column, but all of India moved through him. The fight of a nation channelled solely through one man.
The same man who had been written off by the same fans who roared his name in London.
He brought the game to day 5, and his final statement began with England needing 27 runs for victory and four wickets in hand. He only needed three balls.
He gets Smith, thick edge and Jurel makes no mistake behind the stumps. India were celebrating, but the umpires asked for calm as they checked whether the ball had carried. Of course it has.
Next ball. Siraj to Atkinson. The edge. But it’s dropped. Does it carry? Doesn’t matter. KL Rahul is unable to get his fingers under the ball.
In Siraj’s next over, he gets a look at Craig Overton. It’s the wobble ball. It darts in viciously. India go up. Dharmasena waits and waits. It looks legsideish. No. The finger’s up. India has another. Two more.
Krishna cleans up Josh Tongue and out walks Chris Woakes. You’d think it would be impossible to bat with one hand, but no, England’s wizard walks out to the middle. He’ll need more than magic now.
Siraj runs into Atkinson again, he swipes across the line. The ball hangs in the air, and it’s parried over the bar by Akash Deep. Atkinson picks up 6. In a series of dropped catches, would this prove fatal?
England are 11 away. Siraj picks up the ball for the 85th over. And it’s over. Full. Fast. Off stump gone. Atkinson undone.
In the post-match scenes, Siraj says he woke up in the morning and downloaded a photo off Google that said “believe”. And that’s what he did—when no one else did.
Ravi Shastri said Siraj would have thought that “I am the Bumrah”. But that’s not right. Siraj isn’t anyone else. He is entirely himself. Raw, unrelenting, imperfect. But always magnetic.
This series has given us everything. Day 5 at The Oval provided one of the most unforgettable climaxes Test cricket has seen. When the story of this series is told — with its runs, the dropped catches, and the sheer energy it took, one name will rise above the rest.
Mohammed Siraj.
About the Author: Moosa Niazi
Brisbane kid who’s chasing narratives. Cricket, F1 and everywhere in between, trying to justify the hours lost watching them.