On the fifth day of the fifth Test at The Oval, Mohammed Siraj bowled a match-winning spell to pick his fifth and final five-wicket haul in Tests and guide India to a remarkable six-run win over England. India took the lead over the 5-match series this win, leading to a two-two tally, securing Asia the thrilling tussle of clashes between Anderson and Tendulkar Trophy, which was at par with each other.
It was a very nervous Day 5, as England required only 35 runs to win, holding four wickets in hand, and there were good odds in favour of the English team. But a breakthrough with Siraj shoving Jamie Smith in his 1 st over of the day reversed all that, and now India was back in the contest. He kept up the continuous pressure and eventually outwitted Gus Atkinson to claim his 5-wicket haul. The scene that followed was wild celebrations with India beating England by a mere margin.
Prasidh Krishna too played his part in taking out an important wicket, getting rid of Josh Tongue in a scorching yorker. Atkinson, who was trying to protect his team mate Chris Woakes, got out in the aggressive path but did not succeed and ended up dead in the attempt to hit the boundaries, and this worked in favour of India.
England appeared to be in very good shape earlier in the game, chasing down a record chase at The Oval of 371 with magnificent centuries by Harry Brook and Joe Root. Its cool and arrogant posture had offset any initial impulses that India had made, and the hosts took the bull by the horns. The sudden departure of Brook, however, brought on a sudden breakdown, and wickets fell like ripe fruit to the pressure of the moving ball and to the tight bowling of the Indians.
The historic win was not only a stunning revival by India, but Shubman Gill also rescued the series as the debut tour captain. What Siraj did will go down in history as one of the very best bowling performances in a nerve-wrecking one-run Test finish.
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