Life came full circle for Mohammed Siraj in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. From the extreme lows at the Lord’s Test to the extreme highs at the Oval, the 31-year-old pacer from Hyderabad witnessed a plethora of emotions, perfectly explaining that sport is a great leveller. At Lord’s, Siraj was in his haunches after seeing the bails come off. The No.11 batter played a perfect forward defence off the bowling of Shoaib Bashir; however, the ball rolled back onto the stumps, and the bails fell, giving England a thrilling 22-run win.
However, fate had ecstasy in store for Siraj, too, as the Indian pacer led Shubman Gill and co. to a thrilling win at the Oval. He returned with five wickets in the second innings, giving the side a thrilling six-run win to level the five-match series 2-2.
But the joy of leading India to a win didn’t come easily. Siraj was once again at the centre on Day 4 when he failed to grab the catch off Harry Brook at the boundary ropes. The right-handed batter went for a pull shot off the bowling of Prasidh Krishna. However, he miscued it, and Siraj settled at the boundary ropes for what seemed a simple catch.
Siraj did take the catch cleanly; however, his foot touched the boundary cushion, and as a result, Brook got a reprieve. England added six more runs to the total in their chase of 374. The 26-year-old batter went on to score 111 runs, and England looked set to make it 3-1.
However, once Harry Brook fell, the floodgates opened, and India barged through the door. Siraj did the clean-up job on the final day, where England required 35 runs more with four wickets in hand.
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Siraj, who was adjudged as Player of the Match, has now revealed that he was unable to sleep after play on Day 4 as his mind kept thinking about Harry Brook’s catch.
“To be honest, I cannot describe my emotions. When I was going to sleep after stumps on Day 4, I kept thinking about the dropped catch of Harry Brook. I was just thinking, ‘How could I have done such a thing?’ If I had taken it cleanly, we wouldn’t be here right now. We would have been chilling in our hotel rooms,” said Siraj in a video posted on the BCCI website.
‘God’s plan’
Siraj finished as the leading wicket-taker in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy with 23 scalps to his name. The 31-year-old really stepped up in Jasprit Bumrah’s absence, thriving in the responsibility of leading the pace attack.
In the two Tests where Bumrah didn’t play, Siraj brought out the best in himself, leading the attack and ensuring India’s victory.
“But I guess it was God’s plan. The result is there for everyone to see. I wake up in the morning, I knew that I could make it happen. I always had the belief in myself. I put the ‘believe’ wallpaper on my phone. I just want to thank everyone. Every batter, bowler, hats off to them. This comeback was crazy,” said Siraj.
Siraj who dropped a banger the T20 World Cup 2024, saying, “I only believe in Jassi Bhai”, came up with another astonishing line, perhaps realising his own importance this time around.
“I missed Jassi Bhai. He has a different presence about himself. I only believe in Jassi bhai and myself,” he added.