By Shishir Prashant PrashantNews
On Sunday, Indian pacer Mohd Siraj was declared villain by some cricket crazy fans after he failed to hold Harry Brook’s crucial catch at the boundary in the fifth and last Test match against England at the Oval.
He had inadvertently touched the boundary line that cost India crucial six runs.
Later, Siraj went to Prasidh Krisha on whose bowl he had messed up the catch, to apologize for his mistake.
And on Monday, Siraj was at his best as he was declared hero after taking a five-wicket haul to help India snatch a victory from the jaws of defeat against England. India scored a thrilling six run victory over England that drew the Anderson-Tendulkar series between the two countries 2-2.
In what began as a great suspense after India set a challenging target of 374 runs for victory against England on Friday, Siraj’s one action of failure turned the match miles away from India as Brook scored a magnificent century to bring England closer to victory along with cricket great Joe Root, who also made a superb ton.
But after the tea on Sunday, the Indian bowlers led by Siraj and Krishna stuck blows against England after tea to bring the game alive for India.
At stumps when the bad weather forced the umpires to suspend the match, England needed 35 runs with four wickets in hands. The match was evenly poised.
Both Siraj and Krishna kept the Indian hopes alive on Monday to restrict England at 247 that gave India an incredible six run victory.