As he heard the death-rattle behind him, Mohammed Siraj whirled around and found the bails missing. He saw Jamie Smith slap his gloves and rush towards Shoaib Bashir. Watched the ring of close-in fielders crowding the off-spinner who had snapped his resistance. Then he went down on his haunches, his head bowed, his face ashen, like he had just seen a ghost.
For 64 minutes and 30 deliveries — the most time he has batted and the most balls he has negotiated in a Test innings — the lion-hearted Hyderabadi defied England’s best, trying desperately to offer Ravindra Jadeja the support he required to pull off the most miraculous of victories. Then came that fateful moment at Lord’s, a perfect defensive stroke resulting in the bouncing ball rolling back, hitting the footmarks, wickedly turning direction and going behind Siraj to kiss the leg-stump. Ecstasy and agony shook hands to formalise England’s 22-run victory.
That one delivery perfectly summed up Siraj’s journey in the unforgiving cauldron of Test cricket. So, so nearly there. And yet…
Somehow, Siraj always flies under the radar. Somehow, his transgressions attract more attention than his skills, his resilience, his courage, his heart. Somehow, he finds himself in the shadows. Somehow, he is the man next to whom the spotlight covets. Somehow…
Tireless and unflagging
Siraj is the leading wicket-taker this series, across the two teams, yet the talking point is the coming together of his left shoulder with Ben Duckett’s following the England opener’s dismissal on Day Four at Lord’s. Not unlike in Australia in the winter, when he bowled more overs than any Indian and yet was pilloried for his send-off of Travis Head in Adelaide rather than for 10 tireless, unflagging, unchanged overs in the final innings of the five-Test showdown, in Sydney, when Jasprit Bumrah was out of commission.
It is impossible for Siraj not to be affected by these developments, but he does an excellent job of masking it. Occasionally, in private, he will talk about how ‘our own’ are questioning his presence in the XI, but will immediately break into an infectious smile because he doesn’t do malice naturally. He is at his fieriest, most competitive when he is charged up; he loves the scent of battle and bowls with passion when there is a bee up his bonnet. He doesn’t go looking for a scrap but doesn’t shy away from one, either. Siraj is the ultimate example of taking one for the team, and his colleagues simply love him for it.
Steps up when required
In Birmingham, when Bumrah was rested, Siraj stepped up to the plate with his first Test five-fer in 18 months. Whenever India have gone in without their talismanic pacer, Siraj has invariably delivered, leading the attack with skill and industry without resorting to histrionics and without a sense of self-importance that some others might be tempted to wear like a badge of honour.
Siraj’s reputation as a tireless workhorse precedes him, but he is not just that alone. Perhaps, just perhaps, history will be kinder to him than the present is.
109
No. of overs bowled by Mohammed Siraj in the ongoing Test series, the most by an Indian. With 13 wickets, the speedster is also the most successful bowler so far in the series
