New Delhi: The Indian cricket team led by Shubman Gill won the hearts of the fans with its performance in England. In the last match of the five-match Test series played at the Oval, Team India won the lost match. The Indian players made a tremendous fightback before facing a setback and defeated England by 6 runs. This great victory is a message not only for the world but also for the players of Team India. This message is for those players who have started considering themselves bigger than the team.
The Tendulkar-Anderson Test series will be remembered for many reasons. It will be counted among the most thrilling Test series in cricket history. This series will also be remembered for how a lost game is won. This was done not only by India but also by England. This series proved that the real cricket is Test cricket and it is still alive. When the decision came on the last day of the 5 match series, it can be guessed how thrilling this series would have been.
This series will also be remembered for the love of the players for their country. Be it Rishabh Pant or Chris Woakes. Pant came out to bat despite a leg injury, while Woakes came out to bat despite a broken shoulder to make his country win. This series will also be remembered for the passion of Mohammad Siraj. This fast bowler of Team India was the highest wicket taker in the series. He took 23 wickets.
There were only two fast bowlers from India and England who played all five matches. These were Chris Woakes of England and Siraj of India. Siraj fought till the end. Bowled more than 1100 balls. His passion and performance showed that the word workload management does not exist in his dictionary. A 5-match Test series is a long one, but looking at Siraj it did not seem so. He bowled at a speed of 146 kmph in England’s fourth innings in the Oval Test. This proves that he put his heart and soul into this match.
The same Siraj who was going to become a villain by dropping Harry Brook’s catch on the fourth day, became the hero of Team India’s victory by taking 3 out of 4 wickets of England on the fifth day. There was life in every ball of 31-year-old Siraj. Every ball seemed to be wicket-taking. Sounds of Ooh and Aaah were coming from around the wicket. Looking at Siraj’s run up and enthusiasm, it did not seem that he was playing the fifth match of the series.
Siraj’s performance improves even more when he leads Team India’s pace attack. Siraj has played 25 Test matches under Jasprit Bumrah, in which he has taken 64 wickets. Out of these, Team India won 10 matches and lost 11, while 4 matches were drawn. Whereas, without Bumrah, Siraj played 16 matches, in which he took 49 wickets. During this, Team India won 12 matches and lost only 3. 1 match was drawn.
His passion and performance is a slap on the face of those star players who talk about workload management. Is a player above the team? To what extent is it right to not play matches when the team is in trouble citing workload? Is Siraj not a big enough star yet to decide how many Tests he has to play in a series?
Imagine what would have happened if Siraj had not played the last match citing workload. This is the same Siraj who played Test series abroad even after his father’s death. His father died when he went on a tour to Australia. He could not even attend his funeral. Team captain Virat Kohli had supported Siraj then. Siraj himself has mentioned this many times.
Siraj has proved through his performance and Team India through its victory that no player is bigger than the team. As long as you are playing, you are worshipped. Especially if you are a very big player and for some reason you are not in the team, then you will be remembered in defeat, but forgotten in victory. In such a situation, Team India’s victory is a message for those players who start considering themselves very big and even bigger than the team.
