Dinesh Karthik caught live mid-show trying to hold back celebration as Siraj's last-ball yorker crashes Crawley's stumps
It had been a gruelling day in the field for India, and Indian players roared in celebration, releasing the pressure of a hard-fought day. But away from the field, inside a broadcast studio, Dinesh Karthik had to channel every ounce of restraint as the moment unfolded live on air.
Karthik, seated beside Mel Jones for Sky Sports Cricket's post-day show, which usually begins taping minutes before stumps, was mid-sentence when the drama erupted. As Jones took over commentary duties, calling the wicket in real-time, Karthik clutched the armrests, spinning slightly in his chair, visibly thrilled but composed.
He held back the outburst many fans watching would've let fly, offering instead a poised, measured reaction.
'This is purely nerves, what Zak Crawley went through. As a batter, when you have batted so hard and all you want to do is get past the last over and walk into the dressing room being not out, you tend to go into a shell and you're not committed into a shot. It's a mistake a lot of batters have made in the past,' said Karthik.
Watch:
Earlier, Yashasvi Jaiswal made a sparkling hundred and Washington Sundar a blistering fifty before Siraj struck with the last ball of Saturday's play to bolster India's hopes of a series-levelling win at the Oval.
India were dismissed for 396 in their second innings on the third day as they set England a target of 374 to win with just over two days' remaining.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
41 minutes ago
- Indian Express
‘All you talk about is Mohammed Siraj's heart but he is incredibly skillful'
Following Mohammed Siraj's star turn in India's remarkable six-run victory in the fifth Test against England at The Oval, England great Stuart Broad heaped praise on the pacer, stressing that his fast bowling skills and smarts must not be overshadowed by his fighting spirit. 'Couldn't be more impressed with him. I think you have to be careful with cricketers like Mohammed Siraj where all you talk about is his heart, fight, spirit, drive. He is incredibly skillful,' Broad said on his YouTube channel, 'For The Love of Cricket'. 'You watch him set up batters. He tries a couple of away swingers, then he does the wobble seam back in to bring the stumps into play. He's got brilliant players out throughout the series: Root, Pope, Stokes.' Siraj ended with figures of 5/125 in the second innings after a relentless spell of over 30 overs. The 31-year-old was the only bowler from either side to have bowled in every single innings of the draining five-match series, one in which there was action on 25 of the 25 possible days. He ended the series as its highest wicket-taker with 23. His second wind on Day 4 was vital to India's fightback, and his three wickets on Monday dragged India to tie the five-match series 2-2. Broad acknowledged how vital he proved to be. 'His greatest strength is how much effort he puts in and how he always turns up. He grabs the ball, he wants to be in the action, he's a bit of a showman,' he said, adding: 'But don't mistake passion for a lack of ability.' 'I was really worried that he would remember this Test match for the dropped catch (Siraj stepped onto the boundary line when he caught Harry Brook at a crucial moment on Day 4). I didn't want that to be his last memory of this series… But he fittingly took the last wicket and he really deserved it,' Broad said.
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
42 minutes ago
- First Post
Harbhajan takes a dig at Vaughan and other English experts over Test series prediction: 'I would tell them to look...'
Michael Vaughan was among a host of English experts who had predicted a series victory for the Ben Stokes-led hosts over a new-look Indian team led by Shubman Gill, captaining in the Test format for the first time. India, however, proved Vaughan and others wrong with a victory at The Oval that ended the series in a 2-2 draw. read more Harbhajan Singh took a dig at Michael Vaughan and other English experts following India's series-leveling victory at The Oval on Monday. PTI/Reuters Indian spin legend Harbhajan Singh took aim at former England captain Michael Vaughan over the latter's prediction ahead of the 2025 Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. Vaughan, who had led England to a famous victory in the 2005 Ashes, had predicted a 3-1 victory for the Ben Stokes-led hosts in the five-match series. The prediction, however, was proven wrong on Day 5 of the series finale at The Oval in London as an inspired spell from Mohammed Siraj helped India bowl England out for 367 and collect a six-run victory – their narrowest in Test cricket – leveling the series 2-2 in the process. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'I feel there is a big win hidden for India here. Yes, the scoreline shows 2-2. Michael Vaughan and many others predicted that it would be 3-1 or 3-0. I would tell them to look towards their side a bit and where England cricket stands. Our warriors have shown the level of Indian cricket,' Harbhajan said on his YouTube channel. 'Bhajji' further heaped praise on the Gill-led squad for 'creating history' in the absence of stalwarts such as Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin. While Ashwin had retired from international cricket midway during the tour of Australia, Kohli and Rohit had quit the Test format in May. 'Unbelievable Test match and the way India have played the series, they deserve praise. When the team went to England, many people said it was young and there were no seniors. But see how the young team created history,' he added. How Team India proved Vaughan's prediction wrong at The Oval India were facing the prospect of a 3-1 series loss on the penultimate day of the fifth Test at The Oval after Harry Brook and Joe Root struck centuries and forged a 195-run stand for the fourth wicket taking England to 301/3 in their chase of a challenging 374-run target. The Indian pace trio of Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna celebrate India's series-leveling victory at The Oval. Image: AP Akash Deep's dismissal of Brook, who had been handed a lifeline by Siraj on 19 earlier in the chase, as well as Prasidh Krishna's twin-strike shortly before stumps, rekindled India's hopes in the closing stages of the penultimate day. . Siraj put the visitors in pole position by dismissing overnight batters Jamie Smith and Jamie Overton in successive overs. Prasidh then castled Josh Tongue before Siraj sealed one of the greatest triumphs in Indian cricket history by castling Gus Atkinson, who nearly took England home in the company of an injured Chris Woakes. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
Hindustan Times
42 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Why India's English summer of 2025 was more heroic than 2021-22
Mumbai: It will be near impossible for any Indian Test win to touch the heights of Gabba 2021 because of the acute scarcity of resources with which it was achieved. But the Oval Test win on Monday that levelled the series presented serious challenges to the bowlers, and the manner in which India's pacers passed the endurance test has earned them a rightful place in the echelons of the country's best Test performances. FILE PHOTO: Cricket - International Test Match Series - Fifth Test - England v India - Kia Oval, London, Britain - August 2, 2025 India's Mohammed Siraj celebrates after taking the wicket of England's Zak Crawley Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs/File Photo (Action Images via Reuters) Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna and Akash Deep bowled 126 of India's 136 overs at The Oval. In the England second innings, the trio was forced to go to 'dark places' as Ben Stokes had described his travails taking on a heavy bowling workload after breaking down before the final Test. Deep, who suffered a groin strain at Lord's, needed injections to play in the final Test. Siraj, in his fifth successive match, refused to give up belief. Prasidh, battling issues with accuracy, persevered and ultimately found his sweet spot on the pitch. The strain of chasing 20 wickets with fewer frontline bowlers was accentuated in the series finale, but it was felt all the way through with India seeing greater merit in adding batting depth. That India could still win two Tests – the other came in the 2nd Test at Birmingham – in the series was down to one or the other fast bowler rising to the occasion at different times. Siraj was a key contributor in both the wins, picking up seven and nine wickets respectively. Besides, Deep emerged as wrecker-in-chief at Edgbaston, taking a 10-fer. He did most of the damage with the new ball. At The Oval, Prasidh, despite being expensive, found ways to exploit the carry on the pitch, and later, uneven bounce for his eight wickets. Deep with the new ball and Prasidh with the old became India's mantra to make things happen in the two Tests spearhead Jasprit Bumrah missed. So much so that in the final analysis – not just in those Tests India won – Deep held the best new ball numbers (avg 28.4) and Prasidh caused problems with the older ball, averaging 28.54, next only to Bumrah (22.12), but inducing more false shots (28.2 to 23.4%). To manage his workload, Bumrah had to be restricted to three Tests. The lead pacer was still very good, averaging the best of the lot, but his limited role forced the others to push their limits. This is where workhorse Siraj rose to the occasion, not only bowling 14 spells of more than 5 overs, but also finishing as the highest wicket-taker. How far India's tactics stretched their bowlers can be understood by a comparative look at the last tour of England (2021-22). It was also a five-Test series, the result (2-2) was identical, and the frontline bowlers took the same number of wickets (65). The key difference was the workload of the main bowlers, which was well spread among the experienced lot. Bumrah and Siraj played all the Tests, Mohammed Shami was there in four, Ishant Sharma played two and Umesh Yadav in one in which he made his presence felt. In three matches in this series, India played three all-rounders (including spinners), and two in the other games. Spinners made a limited impact in both series. The all-rounders bowled 7% more overs than three years ago but returned a poorer bowling average (54.3 to 43.14). While output comparison in absolute terms would not be accurate as the pitches this time were mostly batting friendly, it's worth noting that Shardul Thakur was a more effective bowler earlier. With England laying out flat decks barring The Oval, India's strategy to shore up batting had some merit. Their batting depth bailed them out on a few occasions. Washington Sundar produced important cameos besides the unbeaten century at Old Trafford. But data suggests India could have shown more faith in their batters though they lacked the experience of 2021— the top five scored more heavily (2,643 runs) than England's (2,076). Contributions of No.6-8 of both teams (India – 823, England – 844) were nearly the same. This margin might have swelled if India had picked an extra frontline bowler – a fourth pacer at The Oval and wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav in some of the other Tests. But the bowling averages could have improved and the lead pacers could have been sharper. 'That's something we will reflect on when the tour is over, on things we could have done better,' Morne Morkel, India's bowling coach, had said after Day 4 of the final Test. It didn't matter to Siraj, who took it upon himself to win the final morning of the pulsating series. It is because of lion-hearted performances like his that India competed in every Test.
