‘You asked, I delivered’ — Mohammed Siraj responds to Dale Steyn’s fifer prediction with epic 5-wicket haul

Contributor
Mayank Bande
‘You asked, I delivered’ — Mohammed Siraj responds to Dale Steyn’s fifer prediction with epic 5-wicket haul image

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Mohammed Siraj ended the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy with a brilliant Day 5 spell at the Oval as he got to his second five-wicket haul of the series.

Siraj was leading the Indian pace battery for the second time in the series, following Jasprit Bumrah's rest due to workload management.

The 31-year-old took the onus and scalped 4/86 in the first innings, followed by 5/104 to end to help India draw the Test series by a 2-2 score-line.

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Moments after his epic spell on the morning of the final day, Siraj replied to Dale Steyn's prediction about him that was made ahead of the match.

Here's what he had to say.

Mohammed Siraj responds to Dale Steyn's prediction for the Oval Test:

Before the start of the India vs England series finale, former South Africa pacer Steyn had predicted a Siraj five-fer in London.

Despite bowling incredibly in the first innings, the Indian bowler could only manage a four-fer.

However, he kept India alive in the Test, as England could only manage a 23-run lead.

While defending a 374-run target, Siraj took a leaf out of Jasprit Bumrah's book and cleaned up Zak Crawley on the final ball of Day 3, followed by a nip-backer to trap Ollie Pope lbw on the next morning.

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Heading into the final day of the series, England had a slight edge with 35 runs to win and 4 wickets in hand, but Siraj once again stepped up and dismissed the dangerous Jamie Smith early in the morning.

He continued to bowl with remarkable discipline and further dismissed Jamie Overton and Gus Atkinson to guide India to a dramatic win by 6 runs.

He then took to Twitter and replied to Steyn, saying he delivered what Steyn asked of him and thanked the South African legend.

How did Siraj perform in the England series?

Siraj finished the series with 23 wickets in 9 innings as the highest wicket-taker. Both his five-fers at Edgbaston and the Oval resulted in India's wins, to retain the series.

He also bowled 1113 balls, i.e., 185.3 overs in the series, which is the most among all the players who played for both teams.

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The Indian was the only pacer who lasted all 25 days of the series without any rest or sustaining any injury.

InningsOversWicketsAvg/SREconomy rateBest figures4/5w
9185.32332.43/48.394.026/701/2