Opinion | Hero To Villain To Hero Again: How Siraj Had The Last Laugh At The Oval

In the morning session of day four of the Oval Test, Mohammed Siraj's leg touched the boundary rope after the fast bowler completed the catch of the dangerous Harry Brook, only to give him a second life on 19. Brook went on to smash what looked like a potential match-winning century (111). It was Siraj who eventually took Brooks' catch, but not before newspaper headlines screamed - 'Siraj goes from hero to villain'.

Almost exactly twenty-four hours later, Siraj had reclaimed the title of 'hero', taking India to an unforgettable 6 run win. After the match, Siraj revealed how he had downloaded a picture with the caption that read - 'Believe' - and told himself that he could do it for the team. His belief in himself was validated when he walked off the ground with the Player of the Match medal around his neck for match figures of 9/190.

His Legend Grows

There's no doubt that the lion-hearted effort that Siraj put in in the second England innings at the Oval - one that saw him finish with a five-for (5/104) - will ensure that his legend grows and that the fans, on both sides, talk about him as India's main man with the ball, especially in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah. But the truth is, even if India had not managed to win the Oval Test and Siraj had not finished as the 'hero' of the game, he would still have been worthy of a lot of credit. He was already the leading wicket-taker of the series and had shown, session after session, that he was going to give it his all, beating the bat multiple times. Overall, Siraj bowled the maximum number of overs in the series (185.3) and finished as the highest wicket-taker (23 wickets), further cementing his status as one of the premier current fast bowlers in Test cricket.

Siraj has continuously improved as a Test bowler, turning himself into a proper strike bowler, and in the absence of Bumrah, he is the leader of the pack. If it wasn't for a thunderstorm that ended Day four early, Siraj could have perhaps well ended things a day early.

Restoring India's 'Aura'

But perhaps his biggest contribution, along with, of course, a great supporting role by Prasidh Krishna, who took eight wickets in the Oval Test, is towards restoring the slightly dented aura of Indian fast bowling on foreign shores. Something that has, since around 2018 or so, been talked about as the major factor behind India's heroic performances in away series and their overall rise in world cricket. And this is going to be priceless going ahead, with a pre-determined formula of allowing Bumrah to play only three Tests of a five-Test series, to manage his workload better, to avoid a breakdown like the one we saw at the beginning of the year, in Australia.

On India's 2020-21 tour of Australia, when the visitors recorded a second successive 2-1 triumph on Aussie shores, their pace bowling spearhead, Jasprit Bumrah, missed the last Test in Brisbane with an abdominal strain. The series at that time was poised at 1-1. India went on to win the Brisbane Test by 3 wickets, with Mohammed Siraj (5/173) and Shardul Thakur (4/61) bowling out Australia for 294 in their second innings. The likes of Shubman Gill (91), Cheteshwar Pujara (56) and Rishabh Pant (89*) did the rest, as India chased down the target of 328.

The Australia Tour

In September last year, Marnus Labuschagne told the Indian broadcasters of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, "India's fast bowling is very good...(which is what) makes them such a tough team to beat in Australian conditions."

In many ways, India's 2018-19 tour of Australia was a watershed moment in Indian Test cricket. Not only did the 2-1 series win infuse in the team and the fans the belief that India can rattle the best in the business in their own backyard, it was a new dawn of ruthless, incisive Indian fast bowling abroad, assisted ably by the spinners. It was the beginning, in many ways, of a harmonious bowling pattern on foreign shores. The 2020-21 series win in Australia and the drawn 2-2 series vs England, in England in 2021-22, where three of the five top wicket-takers of the series were Indian (Bumrah 23, Siraj 18, Shami 13), added to that aura of India's bowling attack being a menacing one, capable of making the best of batters dance to their tunes.

That aura was dented when India lost 1-3 to Australia on their last tour Down Under.

For large parts of Day four of the Oval Test (when Brooks and Root counter-attacked), and in fact till the beginning of Day five, when (for many) England were the favourites, needing just 35 runs with technically three wickets in hand (Chris Woakes had a dislocated shoulder), that aura was further under threat.

Enter, Siraj

But Siraj had different plans. He came onto the field on the last day and asked Indian fans to keep cheering and backing the visiting team. And when the first delivery of the 86th over produced the wicket that gave India the match, and with it their lowest-ever margin of victory in a Test match (6 runs), going past the previous record of 13 runs (vs Australia at the Wankhede in 2004), the 31-year-old Siraj, a genuine swing bowler and one who had hardly missed his lengths on this tour, had his five-for, and, much more importantly, vindication. He had again stepped out of Jasprit Bumrah's shadow and saved the series for India.

Going ahead, what Team India desperately needs is more consistency from the support cast. 'Jassi Bhai' (Bumrah) will remain India's pace spearhead. Siraj will do what he does best: charging in, every single ball. But they need consistent help. Prasidh has once again shown a lot of potential and bounced back after a not-so-great start to the series. Left-arm seam option, Arshdeep Singh, should be tried out. Attacking Chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav shouldn't be a bench-warmer in a 5-Test series.

Lessons From The Oval

No team can expect to win a Test series relying overtly on two consistent wicket-takers, especially when one of them is going to play only three of the five Tests scheduled. For a quick comparison, England's long-term dependence on James Anderson and Stuart Broad, who have over 1,300 Test wickets between them, was also propped up by a supporting cast of bowlers like Steven Finn, Chris Tremlett, Tim Bresnan, and, more recently, by the likes of Mark Wood, Chris Woakes, Olly Stone and Jofra Archer. Go back a generation, and the English had the quartet of Andrew Flintoff, Matthew Hoggard, Simon Jones and Steve Harmison.

Having a bit more confidence in their batting prowess, which, in turn, would have made it possible to play an extra out-and-out wicket-taking bowler, is something Team India will have to include as part of the introspection and post-mortem that they do of the series. Why is it so important to have batters till Number 8? Why play two spin bowling all-rounders, regardless of how well they can bat? Why not play four specialist fast bowlers? Bowlers win you Test matches, and unless you have proper wicket-taking options, according to the conditions and who can get you the 20 wickets needed, more often than not, you will only be playing catch-up.

Hindsight is always perfect vision. But nevertheless, this is a series that Team India should have won. But let nothing take away from the fact that India's aura of being a force to be reckoned with on foreign shores has been restored, thanks to the 2-2 scoreline and some stupendous individual performances by the batters and bowlers. Let's allow the team to build and become stronger on the back of that fact.

(The author is a former sports editor and primetime sports news anchor. He is currently a columnist, features writer and stage actor.)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author