London: Former India allrounder Irfan Pathan termed Mohammed Siraj a person with “an iron body with heart of a lion” after the pacer produced one of the best spells of his Test career to guide India to a miraculous six-run win against England in the fifth Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at The Oval here on Monday.
With the thrilling win, the Shubman Gill-led side levelled the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2-2.
On the final day of the series finale, India required four wickets with only 35 runs to defend. However, the way Siraj and Prasidh Krishna bowled in the opening spell of the day, the tide shifted in the tourists’ favour.
Siraj bagged the key wicket of Jamie Smith, followed by Jamie Overton in the same over to push England onto the back foot. Krishna supported with a pinpoint yorker that shattered Josh Tongue’s stumps, edging India closer to a famous win.
Despite nursing a shoulder injury, Chris Woakes courageously came out to bat, keeping England’s hopes alive. Gus Atkinson briefly reignited the chase with a defiant six, reducing the equation to just 11 runs. However, Siraj had the final say, dismantling Atkinson’s off stump to seal a nail-biting win in a dramatic fashion.
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, Irfan wrote, “Iron body with heart of a lion Mohammed Siraj.”
Irfan’s elder brother and former India all-rounder Yusuf Pathan also shared his excitement on India’s win in London and heaped praise on Siraj and Krishna for sharing nine wickets between them in the final innings.
“One of the finest Test matches in recent times! This is what real Test cricket looks like. Brilliant spells by P. Krishna and Siraj. Well done, India! #INDvENG #TestCricket,” Yusuf wrote in a post on X.
Legendary India spinner Harbhajan Singh also lauded the pace duo of Siraj and Prasidh’s efforts in the match and congratulated the team for a memorable tour.
“Brilliant from Siraj and Prasidh. What a win for us. Great Test match. Congratulations to every member of the team, @ShubmanGill. Tum sab ne jeeta DIL. Love you guys,” he wrote on X.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan called the series “incredible” and encouraged the grit and courage shown by both teams. “Wow .. I haven’t witnessed anything quite like that .. an incredible series .. #ENGvIND,” he wrote on social media.
Siraj, who bagged the five-for in the final Test, was adjudged Player of the Match for scalping 23 wickets, the highest on the tour, in the series.
(IANS)
