Mohammed Siraj is giving it everything at The Oval, and it’s paying off. After bowling five overs in one stretch, Siraj was seen having a quiet chat with India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel near the boundary. Soon after that brief exchange, Siraj returned to the attack — and it didn’t take long for him to strike. He bowled a couple of jaffas and then got the big wicket of Ollie Pope, trapping him lbw with a ball that cut back in sharply. It was a textbook Siraj nip-backer, coming in from a wide angle and jagging in off the seam. Pope played outside the line, completely undone by the movement. The ball struck him flush on the knee roll and would have crashed into middle and leg, as confirmed by Hawkeye. He reviewed after a long chat, but it was in vain. Pope walked back for 27.
This was Siraj’s second wicket of the innings, having already removed Zak Crawley late on Day 3 with a searing yorker that crashed into the stumps. With 20 wickets in the series so far, Siraj is now the leading wicket-taker in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.
Poll
How many wickets do you expect Siraj to take in the remaining innings?
He has already bowled eight overs on the trot in this innings, showing remarkable energy and hunger for wickets. Earlier, Ben Duckett fell to Prasidh Krishna for 54. At the time of writing, England are 114 for 3 in 30 overs and need 260 more runs to win. India remain on top, but the fight continues.
