Inspired Siraj leads India to stunning win over England
Photo:
AAP / www.photosport.nz
Mohammed Siraj was inspired as India took the last four wickets in under an hour to bowl England out for 367 and win an astonishing fifth test by six runs to draw a remarkable series 2-2 on Monday.
England had resumed on 339-6 in an atmosphere of unremitting tension at The Oval and a fired-up Siraj dismissed Jamie Smith and Jamie Overton before bowling Gus Atkinson to complete his five-wicket-haul.
After Prasidh Krishna had bowled Josh Tongue for nought, Chris Woakes walked out to bat wearing a sling to protect his dislocated shoulder with 17 runs still needed.
Atkinson hit Siraj for six to give England brief hope and cleverly protected Woakes from the strike, but player-of-the-match Siraj produced another brilliant yorker to earn India their narrowest-ever test win.
"With 60, 70-odd runs to win with seven wickets in hand you don't get to see many games like this," India captain Shubman Gill said.
"Very happy to get this over the line, a little bit of luck for us."
England, 301-3 at one stage, lost their last seven wickets for 66 runs, a collapse prompted by Harry Brook's reckless dismissal after he had made a superb century.
India suddenly had a chink of hope and they took full advantage, removing Jacob Bethell and Joe Root (105) before bad light and rain ended the fourth day early.
England still needed 35 runs to complete their second-highest test run chase and by far the largest for any team on this ground.
The Oval was full for the final act of a series that fluctuated wildly over seven weeks, and under grey skies one of the most dramatic test endings duly played out.
"It has been one of the all-time best test matches," England coach Brendon McCullum said.
"We turned up today with high hopes, but Mohammed Siraj and the passion of the Indian boys was too strong and ultimately they deserve to win this test match," he added.
"We had our chances, we will look back on our dropped catches and the position we were in with the bat."
It was fitting that Siraj was India's hero because he had stepped over the boundary cushion on Sunday after catching Brook on 19, an error that looked likely to cost his team the match.
Woakes was the not out batsman having not faced a ball but running bravely in obvious pain.
"I didn't expect him to come out like that, batting with one hand. Kudos to him," Gill said after his team did a lap of honour.
Tensions flared on the pitch several times during the series, but the India players commiserated with Woakes at the end and both teams shook hands and embraced warmly before leaving the arena.
"There are always emotions shown in the match, but at the end there is respect and admiration for your opponent," Gill said. "Both teams played magnificently in the series and I enjoyed every bit of it."
-Reuters
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
2 hours ago
- RNZ News
Black Cap Jacob Duffy to make his Test debut
New Zealand's Jacob Duffy Photo: Andrew Cornaga/ Otago bowler Jacob Duffy will finally achieve a dream when he takes to the field for the second Test against Zimbabwe on Thursday. Duffy will make his Test debut after being confirmed in the Black Caps eleven. With a couple of injuries in the squad Duffy was tapped on the shoulder by coach Rob Walter, confirming he would play in Bulawayo. "It's been a while coming; I'm not a spring chicken anymore," 31-year-old Duffy said on the eve of the Test. "There are certain points in your career when you wonder if it's ever going to happen." The quick bowler has played 27 T20 internationals and 14 ODIs since making his international debut in 2020 and while he has been a part of a Test squad he has never played the longest form of the game. Duffy said he has always loved his time in the Black Caps squad, however, some moments have been tough. "When you're the guy sitting there without a cap all those times it can be pretty tough to swallow. "That Indian Test series (at the end of 2024) when we won 3-0 over there was one of my favourite tours I've ever been on and I didn't even play. "So to get that black cap is a dream come true and I feel like I really belong." He admits it is also going to be emotional when he takes the field at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo. "Hopefully we win the toss and I get a bowl. I'd love to get into it straight away and team up with my good mate Matt Henry at the other end with the new ball. "Just do what I do, if I'm not ready now I'm never going to be." Captain Mitchell Santner confirmed Duffy would play and indicated there could be other debutants. With quick bowlers Nathan Smith and Will O'Rourke ruled out with injury from the first Test lineup, Ben Lister, Zak Foulkes and Matt Fisher come into contention. Black Caps bowler Jacob Duffy celebrates with team mates after dismissing Sri Lanka batter Kusal Mendis during the recent one day series between the two sides. Photo: Photosport Batting allrounder Michael Bracewell, who played the first Test is now in England so Ajaz Patel is a spinning option. However, Santner will probably take the lead with that role and adding Patel does lengthen the tail. So two other quicks could be selected with Foulkes likely because of his batting skills. The top order is likely to remain unchanged despite Bevon Jacobs being called in as cover. That could result in Santner moving up to seven in the batting order with two of Foulkes, Lister and Fisher playing. Meanwhile, Brendan Taylor returns to the Zimbabwe side following his suspension. Taylor was suspended for three and a half years for breaching the ICC anti-corruption code. The 39 year old is just 62 runs away from becoming the third Zimbabwean to scored 10,000 international runs. New Zealand won the first Test by nine wickets.
RNZ News
6 hours ago
- RNZ News
Hot form has veteran Suzie Bates excited about her future
Suzie Bates of Durham Photo: ACTION FOTO SPORT / AFP A successful stint in England has White Ferns veteran Suzie Bates confident she still has something to offer the game. Bates has just finished playing for Durham in the ECB's new domestic women's competition this year where the eight top division teams were all fully professional. The 37 year old was Durham's first ever women's overseas player and helped the club to mid-table finishes in both the T20 and 50-over competitions in their inaugural season. During her stint Bates became the oldest player to score a century in their 50-over competition. She smashed 163 off 140 balls against Somerset, her 29th century in List A cricket. She was also the leading run-scorer in the T20 Blast and averaged 52 in the 50-over game. Bates told RNZ it was a real boost at an important time on her career. "When you get a bit older and lose a bit of form you do start to wonder if you're near the end, but if you're scoring runs and your body and mind are good then you want to keep going," Bates said. She has just arrived back in New Zealand and will now start preparing for the World Cup in India in October. "(The 163) was a perfect way to end the season and it was nice to leave on a good note. "Leading into a 50-over World Cup to have a score like that under my belt and, more importantly, to spend that amount of time out in the middle really helps when you have a big tournament coming up." Since making her debut for Otago in 2002 and the White Ferns in 2006, Bates has played in most of the cricketing nations around the world. New Zealand's Suzie Bates Photo: Kerry Marshall/ When the opportunity came up to return to England this year she didn't hesitate. It also meant she didn't have to spend all of the New Zealand winter just training and instead got to be out in the middle playing cricket. She said Durham (and its director of cricket, the former Australian international Marcus North) were keen to have an experienced player to help, especially with some of their players 20 years younger than her. "The fact that I've played for a long time and probably seen it all in women's cricket was an appeal for the club." Bates, the most capped New Zealand women cricketer with 348, said she didn't really coach, but hoped that she was more of a role model for the younger players "In all my leadership roles during my career I've gone by the motto 'Do as I do not what I say'. "I find it difficult to tell players what to do; it's more about being in the middle and discussing options. I try not to give younger players too much advice." Bates has scored 4716 runs in T20 internationals, the most of any female cricketer. She has scored more than 10,000 white ball runs for New Zealand The White Ferns will head to the UAE in September for warmup matches before the World Cup in India in October.
RNZ News
6 hours ago
- RNZ News
Captain Tom Latham ruled out of second Test
NZ Cricket captain Tom Latham, 2024. Photo: PHOTOSPORT Black Caps Test captain Tom Latham has been ruled out of the second Test against Zimbabwe after failing to recover from his left shoulder injury. Latham, who was withdrawn from the first Test, had been rehabilitating the injury but was unable to pass a fitness test on the eve of the match in Bulawayo. Auckland Aces batter Bevon Jacobs, who has been playing cricket in Johannesburg, has been called in as fielding and batting cover. Black Caps head coach Rob Walter said it was unfortunate to lose Latham. "He's been working hard and had been tracking well towards the second Test but unfortunately today he couldn't pass his fitness tests. "With Tom being ruled out on the eve of the match we needed to quickly bring in an extra pair of hands to provide fielding and batting cover. Thankfully Bevon had been playing in Johannesburg and was able to make the short trip to Bulawayo." Mitch Santner, who led the team in Latham's absence and became New Zealand's 32nd Test captain, will also lead the team for the second Test. Earlier this week both Nathan Smith and Will O'Rourke were ruled out of the second Test with Ben Lister and Zak Foulkes set to replace them. New Zealand won the first Test by nine wickets.
