 "Mohammed Siraj secured his second fifer of the series. Reuters")
India have pulled off one of their greatest Test wins ever, beating England by just 6 runs in the fifth and final Test at The Oval. With this, the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy ends 2-2, a fair result for two teams who gave everything over five hard-fought matches across 25 days.
Siraj lauded for his performance
Siraj was the star of the day and the match, finishing with 5 wickets for 104 runs in the second innings. His final wicket sealed a stunning win and saved India from yet another Test series loss in England.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsEarlier, India had built their second-innings total of 396 thanks to a brilliant knock of 118 by Yashasvi Jaiswal and a stunning 66 from nightwatchman Akash Deep. Washington Sundar added a quickfire 53 as India set England a daunting 374.
The match had begun with England bowling India out for 224 in the first innings, with Gus Atkinson taking 5/33. But India fought back, led by Siraj’s earlier four-wicket haul that limited England to 247 and kept the game balanced.
Joe Root (105) and Harry Brook (111) then batted England into a winning position on Day 4 with a stand worth 195 runs. But once Brook was dismissed by Akash Deep and Root fell shortly after to Prasidh Krishna, India stormed back into the match. Krishna picked up one more wicket before rain interrupted play in the final session.
At the start of Day 5, the match looked all but gone for India. England were 339/6 and needed only 35 more runs to win with four wickets in hand. But Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna had other plans. In a dramatic morning session, the Indian bowlers held their nerves and took the last four wickets in just 28 runs.
The last man standing was Chris Woakes, who came out to bat with a sling on his left arm. With one hand inside his jumper and the other strapped up, Woakes bravely walked out, but could do little as Gus Atkinson was bowled by Siraj for 17, sparking wild celebrations in the Indian dressing room.