How Mohammed Siraj took inspiration from a Ronaldo wallpaper to get victory

London: Mohammed Siraj picked three wickets on the last day of the fifth Test match against England at The Oval to secure India a thrilling six-run win.

England needed just 35 runs with four wickets in hand to claim the inaugural Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 3-1 on the final day. But Siraj stepped up and removed Jamie Smith, Jamie Overton, and Gus Atkinson during a five-over burst.

“I woke up in the morning and checked Google on my phone and took out a ‘Believe’ wallpaper. I told myself that I will do it for the country,” Siraj said at the post-match presentation.

Siraj later showed the wallpaper during a media conference after the match.

He ended with a five-wicket haul and nine wickets for the match, which won him the Player of the Match award. He claimed 23 wickets in the series, making him the highest wicket-taker in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. With Jasprit Bumrah rested for the final Test, Siraj backed himself to carry out the role of the senior paceman.

“I always believe that I can win the game from any point,” Siraj said.

The pacer had put down Harry Brook on 19 off Akash Deep’s bowling at deep fine leg on the fourth day, and the England batter went on to score a hundred. His partner, Joe Root, also brought up his 39th Test century.

“I didn’t think I’d touch the cushion when I took it. It was a match-changing moment. Brook got into T20 mode. We were behind the game after that, but thank Almighty. I thought the match was gone.”

However, England lost its way from a commanding 301 for three with a flurry of wickets, giving India the chance to pull off a late victory.

On his tactics on the final morning of the series, Siraj said: “My only plan was to bowl good areas. Didn’t matter if I took wickets or went for runs,” Siraj said. Agencies

Most individual hundreds scored in a Test series:

21 - Australia in West Indies (5 matches) - 1955

21 - India in England (5 matches) - 2025

20 - West Indies in South Africa (4 matches) - 2003/04

17 - England in Australia (5 matches) - 1928/29

17 - England in South Africa (5 matches) - 1938/39

Of the 21 centuries in the series, 12 have been scored by Indians, while nine have come off the bat of the host’s batters.

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