London, Aug 4 (PTI) A single city, a distance of 5.2 miles separating two iconic grounds and 20 days is what it took for Mohammed Siraj’s life to come full circle in this back-breaking tour of England.
On July 14, Siraj helplessly witnessed a Shoaib Bashir delivery trickle down and disturb his stumps at Lord’s. He was on his haunches for the longest time as if Father Time had stopped for him. The usually cheerful man was perhaps devastated about letting Ravindra Jadeja’s superb fight go in vain and conceding a lead to England.
The ‘Warrior’ in him deserved a closure and cut to August 4, it came once again with the familiar sound of timber, only this time, he was the one disturbing it to ensure that India ended 2-2, honours shared after a fightback for the ages.
Gus Atkinson was the one in agony at the opposite end as he missed a fast and full delivery. Siraj, meanwhile, was flying, his cheeky humor intact.
Asked about his emotions after the final wicket, having gone through the heartbreak at Lord’s, Siraj was typically unfiltered.
“Actually DK bhai (Dinesh Karthik) started asking questions in English so at that point all emotions went away,” he said in his unassuming Hyderabadi Hindi and brought the house down.
Call it irony but when he was pushing his body to the limits with an 80-over old Dukes ball messing with both the minds and willows of the English batters, it was Jadeja, who had some peppy words for the 31-year-old workhorse.
“Jaddu bhai ne bola, ki apne father ke barein mein soch aur kitna takleef unhone uthaya aur tujhe unke liye yeh karna (win) hai. (Think about your late father and amount of hardships he faced. Do it for him),” Siraj said referring to the late anchor of his life.
After 185.3 overs of Test match bowling and 23 wickets, with match-winning performances in games where there was no Jasprit Bumrah by his side, Siraj has created his own lasting legacy.
“Body is fine…I don’t care if it’s the sixth oer or the ninth over for me. I don’t bowl for myself, it is for my country,” he said.
It won’t matter how many more Tests he would add to his tally of 41 red ball games so far.
“I woke up in the morning and checked google on my phone and took out a ‘Believe’ emoji wallpaper and told myself that I will do it for the country.” He later showed that wallpaper to the media. It featured Cristiano Ronaldo and a solitary word that became his driving force — ‘Believe’.
Even with no Bumrah around, the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) of Telangana Police believed firmly that losing was never an option.
“I always believe that I can win the game from any point, and this morning was no different,” Siraj told Dinesh Karthik in a post match chat for Jio Hotstar.
Having consistently troubled the English batters, Siraj finished with 5 for 104 in 30.1 overs and a match haul of nine wickets.
“My only plan was to bowl in good areas. Didn’t matter if I took wickets or went for runs,” Siraj said.
On Sunday afternoon, a sinking feeling did fleetingly cross his mind as his feet touched the boundary rope while trying to catch Harry Brook when he was on 19.
Brook scored a smashing ton and it seemed that the match was slipping from India’s grasp.
“I didn’t think I’d touch the (boundary) cushion when I took it. It was a match-changing moment. Brook got into T20 momentum. We were behind the game after that but Thank God. I thought the match was gone,” Siraj said.
In times when workload management is a talking point, Siraj’s endurance has set a new benchmark.
Bumrah, because of his dodgy back, is being protected by the Sports Science team at the Centre of Excellence and Mohammed Shami no longer seems to be in reckoning.
Siraj’s scrambled seam nip-backers might be complicated but in his head, his plans remain uncomplicated.
“I have worked very hard for it. If you are part of an 11 from 1.4 billion people, then you need to be honest about the game and work on it. Belief is necessary,” he said.
Skipper Shubman Gill called him “every skipper’s dream” and admitted that he “couldn’t believe that someone could make an 80-over old ball talk so much.” “Siraj has earned that respect in the dressing room and it has been built over his work ethic in the last four-five years,” Gill said.
Siraj’s now famous one liner “I am believe in Jassi bhai, game changing bowler” has become a permanent meme that innocently captures the brilliance of Bumrah.
But on Monday, the punch-line came from his skipper Gill at the end of the press conference.
“I have always maintained ‘We always believe in Siraj bhai,” Gill said. The whole India does. PTI KHS BS PM KHS PM PM
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