Mohammed Siraj couldn’t hold back his tears as Dhruv Jurel ran in and hugged him. Shubman Gill stood quietly for a moment, looking up at the sky, before the teammates rushed towards him to celebrate. Prasidh Krishna waved towards the packed stands as the tricolour fluttered high.
Monday morning at The Oval felt surreal.
It seemed after 25 days of riveting action, the best was saved for the last as India came from behind to pull off a six-run win against England in the fifth Test and draw the series 2-2.
In the Bazball era, not many pinned hopes on an Indian team in-transition when the series got underway, but over the past one-and-a-half month, the young side showed so much heart in coming back from the trickiest of situations. And, the final day of the series was no different as the Indian bowlers, spearheaded by Siraj, delivered a performance for the ages. Ignoring workload management calls and not making a fuss about a quick turnaround time between the fixtures, Siraj bowled more than 1000 deliveries in the series and as he bowled with gusto on a dark and gloomy morning, he seemed as fresh as he was in the series opener.
He got the ball to swing amidst a drizzle, and picked up three wickets in a challenging spell with the old ball and, riding on his five-wicket haul, India clinched its third Test win at the iconic venue, the earlier ones being in 1971 and 2021.
Chasing a massive 374, it was England’s game to lose until the final day, with 35 requiring and four wickets in hand. There was a chance to win a Test series against India for the first time since its 4-1 triumph at home in 2018. But with Siraj and Prasidh bowling with precision, England’s tail looked jittery and as the Indian fans cheered for their team, the visitors did everything possible to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
In fine rhythm, Siraj nicked off Jamie Smith before trapping Jamie Overton, who started off the day with a couple of boundaries, leg-before. The pressure grew further as Prasidh castled Josh Tongue shortly.
England had to struggle for every single run, but with Gus Atkinson hanging in there and Chris Woakes walking out to bat, with his left arm in a sling, and bringing back memories of 41 years ago when the late Malcolm Marshall batting with one hand, there was still a slim chance. But in the end, Siraj’s tenacity prevailed over England’s valiant fight as his perfect yorker rattled Atkinson’s off-stump. It was also redemption for Siraj as he had dropped centurion Harry Brook on 19 on day four of the Test.
The last time all games in a five-Test series went to the final day was in 2017-18 during the Ashes in Australia. And, the inaugural edition of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy will forever be remembered for the fierce competitiveness between the two teams despite a spate of injuries, and of course, for being an absolutely perfect advertisement for the game’s longest format.
There were initial apprehension about India’s chances, but with the players giving it their all, it, indeed, was a series to savour.
