Kumar Dharmsena ditches neutral tag, stokes fire in Mohammed Siraj for match-winning yorker to Gus Atkinson

It has been a week, but Mohammed Siraj's heroics at the Oval continue to dominate the hearts and minds of Indian cricket fanatics. The true workhorse of the pace attack put the workload and pain to bed as he charged in ball after ball, in a bid to take India over the line to level the five-match Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. Siraj, who was at the centre of a heartbreak at Lord's Test after the ball rolled back onto his stumps, scripted his own fairytale at the Oval as he took five wickets in the second innings to help Shubman Gill's India register a memorable six-run win. Mohammed Siraj returned with five wickets in the second innings of the Oval Test. (Kumar Dharmasena - Instagram)

On Day 5, India needed four wickets, and England was just 35 runs away from the target. Jamie Overton crashed two boundaries on Prasidh Krishna's opening two balls, easing nerves in the England dressing room.

However, all it took for India to stage a comeback was Mohammed Siraj. He provided the breakthrough in his opening over, dismissing wicketkeeper-batter Jamie Smith. As fate would have it, Siraj would go on to take two of the remaining three wickets to send jubilation across the Indian fans at the Oval and back home.

With England seven runs away, Mohammed Siraj produced a pitch-perfect toe-crushing yorker, and it crashed onto the base of Gus Atkinson's off-stump. The pacer, 31, brought out his Cristiano Ronaldo-like celebration upon realising the magnitude of his achievement.

Also Read: 'Not many can touch even 135 kph': India staring at a big, black fast-bowling hole after Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah

A week later, Siraj was paid the ultimate tribute by ICC Elite Level Umpire Kumar Dharmasena, who officiated in the Oval Test alongside Bangladesh's Ahsan Raza.

Dharmasena shared the perfect frame, showcasing Atkinson's stumps being rooted with a Mohammed Siraj yorker. “So lucky to witness this ball from the best seat in the house,” Dharmasena wrote on Instagram as the caption.

Siraj rises in ICC Rankings

Owing to this performance, Siraj finished as the Player of the Match in the Oval Test. He took a total of nine wickets in the series decider, finishing with 23 wickets in total in the five-match series.

Siraj was the leading wicket-taker across both teams in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. The 31-year-old has now risen to the 15th spot in ICC Test Rankings.

It all did not come easily for Siraj in the Oval Test. On Day 4, Siraj possibly put down the match after failing to take the catch of Harry Brook inside the boundary line. The right-hander went on to score 111 runs.

Harry Brook, alongside Joe Root, put on 195 runs for the fourth wicket, and England looked set to chase down 374. However, Siraj and fate had different plans.

Siraj brought out the best in himself in the two Tests Jasprit Bumrah did not play. The right-arm speedster took the responsibility upon his shoulders to lead the pace attack. Even in the Edgbaston Test, which India won by 336 runs, Siraj took six wickets in the first innings.

Click here to read article