LONDON – Mohammad Siraj’s heroics helped India beat England by six runs in The Oval Test on Monday to draw the series 2-2.
Player of the match pacer dismissed Jamie Smith, Jamie Overton and Gus Atkinson as the visitors bowl the hosts out for 367, seven runs short of the victory target.
On the final day of the last Test, England resumed their second innings at 339/6 while chasing a target of 374, with Jamie Smith unbeaten on two and Jamie Overton yet to score. They needed 35 runs for victory on the final day.
However, Siraj led the attack and made the required 35 runs an uphill task for England. Last day, Brook played a spectacular knock of 111 runs off 98 balls while ever-reliable Joe Root contributed 105 from 152 deliveries.
Opening batter Ben Duckett also contributed 54, but apart from these innings, England’s batting lineup struggled as five players failed to reach double figures.
Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna starred with the ball for India, claiming five and four wickets respectively in the second innings.
India had earlier posted 396 runs in their second innings to set England a challenging target. Yashasvi Jaiswal anchored the innings with a superb 118, while Akash Deep scored 66.
Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar chipped in with 53 runs each. Josh Tongue was the pick of the English bowlers, taking five wickets, while Gus Atkinson and Jamie Overton claimed three and two respectively.
