The previous day, Mohammad Siraj had seemingly taken the catch of Harry Brook, only to step on the boundary rope and gift Brook a life. On the final day, he made up for that costly error in spectacular fashion — “Siraj redeemed himself with three wickets on the final day, finishing with five in the innings.”
Gus Atkinson had no answer to a toe-crushing yorker. The off stump flew, and Siraj celebrated like Cristiano Ronaldo with his trademark ‘Siuuu’. The pacer, who let Brook escape the previous day, atoned by bowling India to a thrilling win. India pulled off an incredible six-run victory, snatching the game from England’s grip to level the series.
The five-match series ended 2-2 after a fiercely fought decider at The Oval — one that will be remembered for its drama and intensity. It was India’s narrowest-ever Test win in terms of runs. Previously, their slimmest victory was by 13 runs against Australia in 2004 at Wankhede.
On the final day, England needed just 35 runs to win with four wickets in hand. A battered Chris Woakes, carrying a shoulder injury, came out to bat one-handed with Gus Atkinson for company. They tried to pull off the chase, but it was not to be.
Siraj was the hero of India’s unbelievable win. “He picked up three wickets on the final day, ending with five in the innings and nine in the match. He was named the Man of the Match. Playing all five Tests, Siraj also finished as the series’ highest wicket-taker with 23.”
Supporting him superbly was pacer Prasidh Krishna, the unsung hero, who took four wickets in each innings to finish with eight in the match.
England began the final day with hope. Jamie Overton smacked the first ball from Prasidh for four, and the next delivery flew to the boundary off the edge.
But Siraj struck back quickly, removing Jamie Smith with a catch behind. He nearly got Atkinson on the next delivery, but the edge fell just short of KL Rahul in the slips.
Siraj returned to trap Overton lbw, before Josh Tongue survived an lbw decision against Prasidh via DRS — replays showed the ball missing the stumps. However, in his next over, Prasidh came back and bowled Tongue clean.
With 17 runs still needed, a courageous Woakes walked out to loud applause, hiding his injured left arm in his sweater and batting with just one hand.
Atkinson launched Siraj for a six to reduce the target, and cleverly retained strike by running a bye off the last ball. He did the same in the next over, taking two and then a single to face the next set.
Then came the final blow. “On the first ball of the next over, Siraj bowled Atkinson (17 off 29) to seal a thrilling win. Woakes didn’t even face a ball.”
Just a day earlier, England looked to be cruising to victory. Brook’s life on 19, due to Siraj’s misstep, turned into a brutal 111-run innings. Joe Root’s century followed, and England were only 42 runs away from victory with six wickets in hand.
But Prasidh brought India back with two wickets in two overs, removing Jacob Bethell and Root, reigniting the fight.
Bad light and rain dragged the contest into the final day — where India wrote one of their most memorable Test wins on foreign soil.
This was India’s first Test series after the retirement of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. New captain Shubman Gill delivered a stunning performance to lead from the front. “With four centuries and a series-high 754 runs, Gill broke several records and guided his team brilliantly.”
Score Summary
- India 1st Innings: 224
- England 1st Innings: 247
- India 2nd Innings: 396
- England 2nd Innings (Target 374):
Previous day: 339/6
Final: 367 all out in 85.1 overs
(Smith 2, Overton 9, Atkinson 17, Tongue 0, Woakes 0*; Akash 20-4-85-1, Prasidh 27-3-126-4, Siraj 30.1-6-104-5, Washington 4-0-19-0, Jadeja 4-0-22-0)
- England 2nd Innings (Target 374):
Result: India won by 6 runs
Series: Drawn 2-2
Player of the Match: Mohammad Siraj
Players of the Series: Harry Brook (England), Shubman Gill (India)
