Mumbai: Even in a lengthy series, you can single out moments of inspiration that can prove defining. Mohammed Siraj’s unrelenting spell of eight overs before tea on Day 2 at The Oval could prove to be one. The onus is on India as a collective to back up his brilliance.
It was immediately after India had lost the Lord’s Test narrowly that Siraj doffed his hat to Ben Stokes for bowling tireless marathon spells. “If you can learn from someone, there’s no shame,” he said. No shame, indeed. Just like his English pace counterpart, the Hyderabad fast bowler strained every sinew and kept running in to keep India in the Test after their batters had folded up for 224 in the first innings. His spell could well prove the spark for an Indian win to level the series 2-all.
Fast bowlers have to bowl long spells from time to time. But think of the strain the present-day pacer has to endure in a five-Test series, stuffed in between a great deal of white-ball cricket. After Chris Woakes’ freak injury ruled him from further participation at The Oval, Siraj is the only one among the pace pack from either side to play in all the Tests and still in action – 154 overs and counting.
When Siraj came on to bowl mid-day, England openers had already played a powerful hand before lunch in 16 overs of mayhem, scoring at over run-a-ball. India’s total had begun to look insufficient. While the sun showed up now and then, the pitch still had plenty of juice. India’s pacers had to hit their lengths and stay patient. Siraj was among the bowlers who had gone for plenty with the new ball. He needed an early spark and the bowler created it on his own by getting one to nip back in sharply to Ollie Pope (22), trapping him lbw.
Siraj stayed patient, not just with his lengths but lines too. He needed to be against Joe Root. There are days when Siraj likes to have a chirp with the batter. Not on Friday. He left it to Prasidh Krishna. All Siraj wanted was to channel his energies on breaking through Root’s defence. He had done it before in the series targeting the stumps and on the final ball of the fifth over of his spell, summoned another one of his scrambled seam deliveries that rammed into Root’s pads. The lbw decision was reviewed by Root, but DRS confirmed it.
England were now four wickets down, but India still had plenty to do. They didn’t have a fourth seamer to exploit the green pitch and Shubman Gill had no choice but to stick with Siraj.
As if asking Siraj to invoke the spirit of Ishant Sharma’s nine-over spell in the Perth Test of 2008, Gill kept throwing the ball to him for one more over. Siraj bowled his 6th, the 7th and then the 8th. While he worked hard, Siraj was able to pin the talented newcomer Jacob Bethell down with a toe crusher following up on a series of wobble seam balls. This time England wouldn’t review. It was obvious that the ball would have dismantled Bethell’s stumps. Each of Siraj’s three wickets were arrowing in on the stumps and went into the scoresheet as leg before dismissals.
After starting the day with a spell of 4-0-31-0, Siraj’s second spell read 8-1-35-3. He may have bowled more productive spells before, but few where he was the last fast bowler standing in a punishing series played on batter-friendly decks, barring this one. The Oval Test has offered just rewards to the pacers, to try and overcome the pain barrier, bend their backs and make it count. Siraj did with his four-wicket haul, adding Harry Brook in the end.
Siraj has taken on the mantle of leading the pace attack in Jasprit Bumrah’s absence. Even in Australia where Bumrah was phenomenal, it was Siraj who bowled the most number of overs. Here, with an innings to come, he is already the series’ highest wicket taker.
So good has Siraj been with his skills and pluck that he would have won an admirer even from the opposing side in Stokes, the injured England skipper watching from the dressing room.
