IND vs ENG: Mohammed Siraj's tough upbringing has hardened him up, says coach
If you haven't watched
Mohammed Siraj
's delivery that dismissed Gus Atkinson to end the Oval Test, drop everything and watch the highlights reel now. The ball curved in deceptively and went under Atkinson's bat to dismantle his off stump.
Amid the euphoric celebrations that helped India clinch their narrowest Test win, here was another statistic that quietly went unnoticed. That was Siraj's fifth-fastest delivery of the series.
In all, he delivered 185.2 overs over the course of the five Tests, and in the second innings at the Oval, he hurled 30.1 of England's 85.1 overs. So much so, that even in the final ball of the series, he was willing to bend his back and extract every ounce from the fifth-day pitch.
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It illustrated the never-say-die attitude and the indefatigable spirit of the Hyderabadi pacer. Siraj would finish the series with 23 scalps and walk away with the Player of the Match award, but there were numerous instances when fate and circumstances were pitted against him.
IND vs ENG: Mohammed Siraj reflects on memorable win at The Oval
Be it the time when he kept missing the edge of the bat through the course of the series, or when on Day 4 of the final Test, when he failed to grab the catch off Harry Brook at the boundary.
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Despite these setbacks, Miyan bhai, as he is popularly known, carried on undeterred.
Naturally, his childhood coach Mohammed Mahboob Ahmed, who watched Siraj take tentative steps towards becoming Team India's leading pacer, is chuffed about his ward.
'Nothing perturbs him anymore. It doesn't matter if he keeps missing the batter's edge or whether he drops a catch. He keeps bowling with a big heart and a huge smile on his face.
His tough upbringing has hardened him up,' Ahmed, the secretary of Charminar Cricket Club, told TOI.
Siraj's father, late Mohammed Ghouse, was an auto-rickshaw driver, whose unflinching support fuelled Siraj's cricketing aspirations. He put in the hard yards and became a regular during numerous India 'A' tours before finally making his Test debut against Australia in Dec 2020. Ahmed reckoned that the key reason for Siraj's success was his ability to pick wickets at crucial junctures. The searing yorker in the dying moments of Day 3 to dismiss England opener Ben Duckett was a case in point.
'He will always remain relevant for India because he has the X-factor,' he added.
In Jasprit Bumrah's absence, Siraj put his hand up and delivered when it mattered the most.
Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
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