How ‘warrior’ Mohammed Siraj set the tone to announce a new era for India cricket
Mohammed Siraj woke up on a drizzly morning in south London realising that the time was now. India were up against it and heading towards a fifth Test defeat against England and subsequently a 3-1 series loss. A scoreline that would not reflect the fierce battle between the two sides over 25 days, with each Test meandering to a climax over its full duration.
Siraj had bowled 1,088 balls by this stage. Yet as much as his physical endurance, his composure was tested, too. That misfield on day four at The Oval, stumbling and staggering into the boundary after clutching Harry Brook for, what would have been, a match-turning score of 19. A mistake that cost India 92 runs before the most dramatic of six-run victories.
“When he woke up in the morning, he believed he could do it,” former India wicket-keeper and Sky Sports pundit Dinesh Karthik confirmed. “Then he took a screenshot of something from Google that said, ‘believe’. He put it out there because he wanted to get it done.”
And believe he did. England started the day needing just 35 runs in their pursuit of 374. Prasidh Krishna coughed up eight runs from the rest of his over, finished overnight after the bad light and rain scuppered a premature conclusion to this enthralling Test. Siraj then dialled up the pace and added some menacing swing, too, with Jamie Smith bamboozled immediately.
A couple of near misses followed a delicate nick back to Dhruv Jurel with his third ball, sparking bedlam. Siraj wheeled away, arms outstretched, but the chaotic celebrations were temporarily cut short due to umpire Kumar Dharmasena’s bizarre move to verify that the catch was clean. Of course, it was, and Siraj had duly delivered the belief India needed to hunt down another three wickets for victory and a drawn series.
The rest of the match-winning spell, ending at 3-9 from just 25 balls, saw Jamie Overton trapped lbw, before Gus Atkinson finally departed, despite a gritty effort to shield the one-armed, heroic Chris Woakes from this devilish Indian pace attack. His stumps rearranged to put the exclamation mark on this iconic win.
While Jasprit Bumrah remains the finest bowler in the world, with his ailing body unable to allow more than three appearances in this epic series, Siraj has underlined his importance, confirming the duo, whenever they do line up together, as one of the great fast bowling pairs in the game.
Cricket, a sport riddled by the quirks of trends and numbers, shows us that India win just 41.67 percent of the games he plays, but that rises to 71.43 percent without him, according to cricket statistician Ric Finlay. While Siraj’s inclusion ensures a 53.66 percent win rate and just 40.00 percent without him. Naturally, it is daft to suggest India are better off without Bumrah, but there is something about Siraj and the emotional impact that numbers cannot measure with this fiery seamer and unique character.
“You don’t seem to look at the bowlers as much,” Karthik remarked when highlighting how batters usually get the credit. “Not just today, but Siraj walked in today trying to be the man. He has bowled like an absolute warrior; he’s done the donkey’s work too. He’s hit 90mph, I couldn’t be more proud of him as a bowler.”
It is that energy and the ability to dig deep when others wilt. Take the wicket of Atkinson to clinch the match, clattering the stumps in this most chaotic of finales.
It was clocked at 143kmph, according to CricViz, his fifth-quickest ball of the series. That, after 1,111 balls in this series, shows remarkable strength. As proven with others, such as Ben Stokes, and the aforementioned Bumrah, who, despite their brilliance, have been unable to hold up to this relentless pace of five Tests and 25 sapping days of play crammed into 46 days.
“He’s a captain’s dream,” concluded the gleeful India skipper Shubman Gill. “Coming in for five matches, giving absolutely everything. Every team wants a player like him, and we’re very lucky to have him.”
If Bumrah is India’s talisman, then Siraj has elevated himself to be his partner in crime and a sensational stand-in when needed. An intimidating presence for the opposition and an able supporter of his teammates when tensions spill over in highly-charged moments, as proven during the antics at Lord’s after Zak Crawley’s theatrics to delay play on day three.
He is also the ultimate counter-puncher, as proven by the final delivery on day three at the Oval to rearrange Crawley’s stumps. If Test cricket is about momentum, then Siraj can swing it as much as the ball.
“I’ve always had great admiration and respect for Siraj as a competitor,” Ben Stokes conceded following the fifth Test. “He keeps coming and coming and coming.
“You know he’ll always be in a fight with you. He’s an example of what it means. I have respect for how he goes about his cricket and how he takes it on.”
The tourists had a mindset throughout the series that they were “not given a chance,” according to KL Rahul, with key figures Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma absent.
But the India opener insists that the fifth Test victory is “where the change begins” and that “it means absolutely everything.” If that is the case, then Siraj’s impact might just be felt for many years to come.
