This article was published before India's victory
It was the first ball of the 35th over on Day 4 at the Oval. England, three down and still needing 237 runs, were clawing their way back into the contest. Prasidh Krishna bowled a short one and Harry Brook top-edged the pull.
The ball flew towards the boundary, and Mohammed Siraj, who had just returned from a brief break, was at long leg. He sprinted in, judged the catch well, and pouched it.
For a moment, India erupted. Prasidh had already begun celebrating, convinced the breakthrough had come. But replays showed that Siraj’s right foot had brushed the boundary rope as he completed the catch. It was six runs, not a wicket.
Siraj stood frozen, and then buried his face in his palms. Prasidh’s celebration turned into disappointment. Washington Sundar, who had run up to Siraj, looked stunned.
It came on the same day Siraj had completed 200 international wickets across formats. He stood out for India in the first innings with figures of 4 for 86. With Brook marching towards a century, the misstep loomed large.
But Siraj didn’t fade. He roared back with the ball later, kept running in, kept fighting.
Because this was not a story about a blunder. It was a story about how a man picked him up from that moment and fought like few others could. Siraj has always been that kind of cricketer. Quiet. Fierce. Driven.
And at The Oval, in the final Test of the Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy, he reminded the world of who he is.
The numbers tell a story
Siraj is the only bowler from the two sides who bowled more than 1,000 deliveries across five Tests. He took four wickets in the first innings of the final Test. In the second innings, he made the first innings’ highest scorer, Zak Crawley, look clueless with a well-executed plan: short ball threat followed by a full delivery aimed at the pads.
He was clocking 137 kmph on the 24th day of the series. Not many fast bowlers keep that energy alive after a full month of grind.
Joe Root called him a warrior. “A real warrior, someone you want in your team,” he said. “He gives everything for India.”
India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel praised his calmness and hunger. “Siraj loves wearing the India shirt. You could see that every time he turned to the crowd, asking them to make noise, Morkel said.
“There was something almost childlike in the way he clapped for a good umpiring decision, something pure in the way he celebrated his teammates' wickets,” the former South African pacer added.
The fightback was years in the making
Rewind to 2021 and the fabled Gabba Test. No Bumrah, no Shami, no Umesh. A bowling attack made up of rookies and emergency replacements. In that chaos, it was Mohammed Siraj who led the line.
He was not even supposed to be in the XI. But he stood tall, dismissing Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne and Matthew Wade in a five-wicket haul that changed the course of the game — and perhaps, his career. Yet when the headlines rolled out, they celebrated Rishabh Pant’s heroics with the bat. Siraj remained a footnote.
Four years later, it’s hard to ignore him. He sets up wickets like a craftsman: wobble seam, followed by the inswinging yorker. But he still doesn’t get the recognition others do. After India’s win in Edgbaston earlier this series, BCCI secretary Jay Shah congratulated Gill, Jadeja, Pant and debutant Akash Deep. Siraj, who had taken a five-wicket haul, wasn’t named.
Siraj doesn’t fit the template of an Indian superstar. He doesn’t have a slick media presence. He isn’t a commercial face or a political favourite. He just bowls. Long, tiring, meaningful spells that often go under the radar.
For many fans, Siraj still carries the baggage of his early IPL seasons when he was written off as inconsistent. Even after delivering results overseas, whether it was in Australia, England, the West Indies or South Africa, he was rarely spoken of in the same breath as India’s elite pacers.
But he kept improving.
Siraj is India. Not the image on glossy TV ads or political campaigns, but the real India — the one that lives in train compartments and traffic jams, in two-bedroom flats and government jobs. He is the son of an auto-rickshaw driver from Hyderabad. He knows what it means to fight for every opportunity.
So when he stands at the top of his mark, steaming in with sweat pouring down his face and eyes locked on the stumps, you’re not just watching a cricketer. You’re watching someone carry the weight of a country.
The Tendulkar-Anderson trophy may go down as one of the most iconic Test series in recent memory. It had drama, heartbreak, brilliant centuries and stunning reversals. But it perhaps also gave us something more lasting.
It gave Mohammed Siraj a series to call his own.