Siraj' Miracle at The Oval, his brilliant bowling led to a memorable 6-run win over England in the 5th Test, drawing the series 2-2

@Siraj celebrating after winning the match vs England in the 5th Test at The Oval 2025

🏏Match & Seies Context:

The Stakes is Set

• The Oval game in London was the deciding game of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.

• England required a draw or a win to seal the series 3-1, India required a win to draw level.

• Going into the fourth and final day, England was in the driving seat: with 374 to win they were at one point at 301/3, and they looked ready to win the game in historic style

However, this match had it all in store, as the weather delays, late-night drama and an epic Day 5 story with a roller coaster ride ending all the way to unforgettable.

🧨 The Collapse & Indian Fightback:

When England came back to 339 for 6 it seemed that they were sailing to a historic victory.However, in a stunning one‑hour debacle, India was mercilessThen Siraj, followed by Prasidh Krishna, and further field assistance saw the last four  English batsmen dismissed in just under an hour to end all out with a score of 367,  six runs short.

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The scoreboard: India 224 and 396 England 247 and 367. It was the closest Test win that India had ever achieved, quite outshining their previous closest by a huge margin. Siraj’s Heroics:

Evening went to Mohammed Siraj whose fiery bowling turned the game after the match. He sacked Jamie Smith, Jamie Overton and Gus Atkinson and ended with a classic 5/104. A final yorker by Siraj got out Atkinson and Siraj won the game and the Player of the Match.

Siraj, who would later comment that his self-belief was central to his performance,  said he always believed in himself; he also pointed out the importance of mental   strength.

His redemption as a cricketer was complete, particularly following previous slips like stepping on a boundary rope on day four which had cost India a crucial momentum.

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Charge of England and Indian Resistance:

•  Harry Brook (111) and Joe Root (105) put on an impressive 195-run stand   with England chasing down the score with authority

• England was in a safe position at 301/3. But the bowlers of India especially   Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna struck back.

• Day 4 was interrupted by rain early in the evening and allowed England to   move to   a good position. However, Day 5 was propped up as swing behind   cloudy skies, which India required

•  India got England under pressure with the wickets tumbling at regular   intervals- the  hosts lost 7 wickets in only 66 runs to make it 301/3 to 367 all   out

Siraj and Krishna Give the Knockout:

•  Mohammed Siraj produced one of the most electric bowling spells of his         career: by taking 5 wickets in the second innings, he ended up with 9                 wickets in the match, more than any other player in the series on both   teams.

• Prasidh Krishna also played a vital part by removing Josh Tongue, Jacob Bethell and Joe Root in key blows that assisted in breaking the late resistance by England

The Last Hour: Dramas, Injuries and Nerve

• England required 35 runs with 4 wickets intact in hand on Day 5 morning;       most people thought they would sail through.Nerves got to them instead

• Chris Woakes, who had a dislocated shoulder, had the courage to come out  to bat in a sling.Never, despite enormous pain and enormous courage, did he confront a ball--but there, in his absence, was the spirit of England in arms

•  The last known bat, Gus Atkinson, did what he could with singles and a six      to slow down the defeat-England 367/9

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The Final Deliveries Match-Winning Moment:

• Siraj bowler was re-introduced to bowl the final over and he bowled an             unplayable perfect yorker that dislodged the stumps of Atkinson-   giving  India a six run victory with 367 all out chasing 374.

• When the ball struck the stumps, there was an eruption in the stadium, Indian   players hugged each other, and England was shocked. Siraj burst into tears   a short time afterwards, and was overcome with emotion

In the box, Sunil Gavaskar was ecstatic and exulted in pride- a national euphoria of an iconic victory

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Records & Reflections:

•  It is the narrowest Test win India has ever won by runs and the narrowest   margin that England has lost a home Test by 6 runs, in 1902, which is also     the  narrowest margin that England has lost a home Test by 6 runs.

• The series was drawn 2-2 which meant that England kept the Anderson-       Tendulkar trophy.To India, it was a moral and heroic recovery on foreign          land

•  Siraj was India s leading wicket-taker of the series and Player of the   Match;  Shubman Gill who scored four hundreds throughout the series and   was the leading run-getter was Player of the Series

Match Summary Table:

Feature                          Details

Venue & Date                The Oval, London 4 August 2025

Series Result                5-Match Series Drawn , 2-2 Overall

Margin of win                India by 6 runs

 Target                            England Chased 374

England's Score           247 & 367

India's Score                 224 and 396

Key Performers            Mohammed Siraj (5 wkts), Prasidh Krishna

Captain India                Shubman Gill (754 series runs)

Hero                              Siraj as well as the bravery of Chris Woakes

  Impact & Legacy:

• It was described by England coach Brendon McCullum as the best five-          match Test series he had ever been witnessed in a clash of momentum          changes, intensity and aggressive cricket

• Cricketing greats such as Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly have          hailed the match as being of the very best Test cricket, and have spoken of   the spirit and fighting qualities of the Indian team.

• The fans in England were also inspired, despite the fact that they were              mourning. They admired the guts of Woakes and the revival of England in      the series- and   accepted that India deserved it

• In India, the triumph of a 25-year-old captain Shubman Gill as he entered       his first series in the captaincy was a declaration of a new generation: depth,   confidence and old-school Test spirit even in the absence of the elderly   Bumrah and Ashwin

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Player Highlights:

• Mohammed Siraj (Player of the Match): 9 wickets in the match and the last yorker, with the demonstration of courage, hunger, and clutch play

• Prasidh Krishna: vital late-innings breakthroughs that would create pressure and choke the English target chase

• Shubman Gill (Player of the Series): four centuries, steady run scoring, quiet captaincy in tricky foreign conditions

• Harry Brook & Joe Root: their centuries and the partnership of 195 runs put England in a commanding position before the hands of the collapse- England backbone in the batting series of the Test matches

• Chris Woakes: a real life superhero; came out to bat with one arm in a sling after walking out to take the field injured in an attempt to salvage the chase--he won the respect of both sides

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Why This Match is Important:

Rain-washed Day 4, weather extremes, run changes and a death-overs burst of      pace-this Test had the whiff of Test cricket with a twist of the unexpected.  It also featured depth to Indian pace attack, recovery against pressure and aura of   good leadership in Gill and Siraj. To England, it was evidence of their revival after the Brendon McCullum   reconstruction - swashbuckling, fearless and brought down by pressure and   heartbreak. And to the cricketing world the last hour was one of the finest straggling Test  match  finishes in recent history dramatic, filmical, suspenseful and dignified all the way to the end. Summary:

India have ended the England series 2-2 as they won the Fifth Test match at The Oval by thrilling six runs against England on August 4, 2025. The masterclass with the ball by Mohammed Siraj, some crucial breakthroughs by Prasidh Krishna and inspiring captaincy by Shubman Gill swung the game in India favor. England had to rely on heroics on the part of Brook, Root and Woakes but India had grit and survived the pressure to deserve the outcome.The game has become one of the greatest cricket epics ever and one that commemorates the glory and spirit of test cricket and its continuing lure.

Brief Scores: India 224 (Karun Nair 57; Gus Atkinson 5-33, Josh Tongue 3-57) & 396 (Yashasvi Jaiswal 118, Akash Deep 66, Washington Sundar 53, Ravindra Jadeja 53; Josh Tongue 5-125, Gus Atkinson 3-127) batted out England 247 (Zak Crawley 64, Harry Brook 53; Prasidh Krishna 4-62, Mohd. Siraj 4-86) & 367 (Harry Brook 111, Joe Root 105; Mohd. Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 6 runs (Siraj 5-104, Prasidh Krishna 4-126)