Gus Atkinson was the final wicket of Siraj, and as a result, India ended the five-match Test series 2-2.
England head coach Brendon McCullum lauded Mohammed Siraj after he wreaked havoc with the ball during the fifth and final Test match at the Oval. Siraj helped India win the game after he scalped the final wicket of Gus Atkinson, leaving the England head coach disappointed.
While chasing a target of 374 runs, the Hyderabad pacer showed tremendous grit and resilience, and as a result, the English side was restricted to 367.
Siraj picked up a five-wicket haul, including a breathtaking spell of 3-9 on Monday’s final morning. The English side resumed their innings on 339-6 and sustained four blows for just 28 runs. Gus Atkinson was the final wicket of Siraj, and as a result, India ended the five-match Test series 2-2.
The English team coach, Brendon McCullum, was in awe of Siraj’s breathtaking spell. Siraj ended the Test series as the top wicket-taker with 23 wickets in nine innings.
“When [Mohammed] Siraj took that final wicket, as much as I was disappointed, I had admiration for him — for the fight he’s got as a cricketer and the way he was able to do what he did. That is the best five-match Test series I have ever been a part of or witnessed. It just oscillated so much throughout the six weeks, and I felt it had everything. There was hostility at times, camaraderie at times, great cricket at times, and some average cricket as well, because of the pressure both teams were put under. We knew it was going to be hard coming into the series. We knew they were going to test us physically and mentally. I think it tested both teams more than we expected. It was a cracking series to be a part of,” McCullum told Sky Sports.
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In a game that at one point in time looked like England would clinch the victory, it was Mohammed Siraj who helped India pull off a miracle. Apart from Siraj, Prasidh Krishna scalped a total of eight wickets in the fifth and final Test match against England at the Oval.
For England, star batter Harry Brook scored a century, and it looked like he would win it for England at one point in time. But then, the likes of Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj came in between.
Veteran all-rounder Chris Woakes also showed courage as he walked out to bat with a broken arm when his team needed 17 runs to win the game. As a result, he received a standing ovation from the crowd as he remained unbeaten without facing a ball.
While captaining the team for the first time, Shubman Gill not only became the highest run-scorer but also stood with the fightback with a solid six-run victory at The Oval on Monday.
Gill scored 754 runs in the five-match series with an average of 75.40, which included four centuries. He also became the only Indian batter to score the most runs in a Test by an Indian batter.
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