Mohammed Siraj admitted that he is yet to come to terms with how things unfolded in the third Test during the five-match series against England at Lord’s. Despite his and Ravindra Jadeja’s determined efforts to salvage a draw, an unfortunate dismissal cut short Siraj’s stay and broke a million Indian hearts. The moment also handed England a 22-run victory.
Siraj registered a total of four scalps in both innings combined, but his resolute batting was what really made India's last stand at Lord's memorable.
India had a glimmer of hope in the 193-chase as Siraj and Jadeja teamed up to frustrate England until a delivery by spinner Shoaib Bashir brushed off the tail-ender's bat and rolled over to the stumps and left the bails dislodged. India were all-out for 170, 22 runs short of the target.
Speaking on Indian Express' Idea Exchange, Siraj was asked about the moment, during which he revealed the reels of the incident still gets him emotional.
“It is still shocking to me. I don’t know how it happened. If you see carefully, while the ball is travelling towards the stumps, a small pebble comes in the way and the ball bounces up off it, reaches the stumps to just about hit and a bail drops.
“That moment keeps popping up on Insta reels. When I see those reels, I get emotional. We had almost lost that match, but we were back in the Test. I was feeling so comfortable, there was no way I felt I could get out. I got hit by a ball from Jofra Archer, but I was fine and felt I was not going to get out. However, the almighty had some other plans," Siraj said.
The five-day thriller was a perfect testimony of gripping Test cricket. Resuming at 58/4 on the final day, India faced relentless pressure as England’s pace attack ramped up, reducing them to eight down by Lunch.
But a resilient effort by Jadeja along with the tail-enders dragged the match into the final session. The hopes of a miracle win were finally crushed when Siraj fell in the 75th over.
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