How Mohammed Siraj won a famous victory for India at Oval?

Mohammed Siraj is covering his face in agony. He has just dropped a possibly match-turning catch. Mohammed Siraj is pleading with the umpire with the passion of a thousand lovelorn letters. Mohammed Siraj is willing himself to bowl one more ball, one more over, one more burst. Mohammed Siraj is performing one final act of heroism at the end of an immensely draining Test series. Mohammed Siraj is on top of the world, arms spread, teammates engulfing him, triumph blazed in his smile.

You can live several lifetimes over if you just follow Siraj’s actions and emotions on a cricket field. He wears his heart on his sleeve. Some might think that’s inevitable, because the size of the heart he has, it’s bound to spill over. If you only see that though, you’ll miss the most essential part of Siraj: the fact that he’s a highly skilful bowler.

Yes, his spirit is undaunted, his energy is undimmed, and his efforts are unstinting. But you cannot conjure miracles without the skill to go along with it. Siraj emerged as the leading wicket-taker in India’s five-Test series vs England because he has a certain mastery over his art.

It’s been a full circle for Siraj, from Bumrah’s support act to being the main man himself too. It’s an earned circle. Siraj didn’t allow India to feel the absence of a bowler like Bumrah, who is on track to be among the greatest of all time. If you are able to step into the shoes of a player on the G.O.A.T. track, and deliver similarly spectacular results, it says a lot about the kind of talent you have.

And being spoken of in parallel with Bumrah is not just recency bias, because Siraj bowled India to a six-run win at the Oval. It holds up when you look at the numbers too.

So when Siraj says he focuses on the process more than the results, he’s not just spouting a convenient cricket cliche. He actually puts that into practice. That’s why he’s homing in on a good length so often. The ability to move the ball both ways is natural skill, honed further. And when you put the ingredients of that innate talent, hard work and discipline together, the results will come.

For Siraj, they came most marvelously in the fifth Test against England. Four wickets in the first innings, five wickets in the second - including the final one of the series, to seal India’s narrowest ever win by runs in a Test match. England lost by only six runs, but for Siraj, as long as there was even one run to defend, he had the belief he could win it for India.

He woke up at 6am instead of his usual 8am, and downloaded an image from Google that said “Believe”. He knew it was going to be his day.

So, before the fifth Test, the support staff asked whether he needed a break. Siraj’s answer was, “Listen, I want to play this test match. I want to win it for the team.”

Saying it is one thing. Siraj actually went and did it too. And he bowled 30.1 overs in the second innings, his highest for the series. He didn’t want a break, and he proved he didn’t need one either.

India bowling coach Morne Morkel described him as someone who led by example. “He's a guy that, in the changing room, will always lead the way. I think he's a natural leader, although vocally, he doesn't speak a lot. I think he leads a lot with actions.

“That's what you want from a fast bowler in an important series, a five-Test series: a guy that's always willing to take the ball… always putting his hand up to say, ‘Listen, I want to do it for the team’.”

When England came out on the fifth morning, with 35 runs to get, they came out swinging. The heavy roller had been used, and they wanted to get quick runs while the effect of the roller was there to negate seam movement. They didn’t account for the fact that nothing - heavy rollers, fate, previous disappointments - could negate the effect of Siraj.