London [UK], August 4 : Following his side's series draw against England, Indian skipper Shubman Gill hailed pacer Mohammed Siraj, the leading wicket-taker of the series, calling him a "captain's dream."
Siraj's inspirational spell during the fifth and final Test was perhaps the biggest reason why Team India left the England shores with their heads held high and the series scoreline. He took a total of 23 wickets in the series at an average of 32.43, with best figures of 6/70. In the final Test, he took a total of nine wickets, including a five-wicket haul in the second innings. While defending 374, India was in trouble with England at 301/3 at one point, but along with Prasidh Krishna, Siraj bowled relentlessly, pulling back the match ball-by-ball, wicket-by-wicket.
Speaking during the post-match presentation, Gill said, "He (Siraj) is a captain's dream. Coming in five Test matches, every ball, every spell that he bowled gave his all, and every captain, every team wants a player like him. We are very fortunate to have him in that team."
Gill said about his captaincy on the final day that when a team has bowlers like Siraj and Prasidh producing bowling the way they did, it becomes easy.
"Bowling a spell does not really... Ball is doing all sorts, you know, they are making the ball talk. Yes, there was a little bit of pressure on us, but I think the way we responded this morning with them coming through with this spell was just magnificent for us. No, I think, yeah, we were pretty confident. You know, even yesterday, we knew that they were a little bit under pressure. We just wanted to make sure that they are feeling the pressure throughout. You know, pressure makes everyone do things that they do not want to, and we just wanted to make sure that they are feeling the pressure throughout the 37 runs that they scored," he added.
After England opted to bowl first, they reduced India to 153/6. A 58-run partnership between Karun Nair (57 in 109 balls, with eight fours) and Washington Sundar (26 in 55 balls, with three fours) was the most meaningful part of the inning as India was bundled out for 224 runs. Apart from Gus Atkinson's five-wicket haul, Josh Tongue (3/57) was also good.
In the second innings, four-fers from Siraj (4/86) and Prasidh Krishna (4/62) reduced England to 247, despite a 92-run opening stand between Zak Crawley (64 in 57 balls, with 14 fours) and Ben Duckett (43 in 38 balls, with five fours and two sixes) and a fifty by Harry Brook (53 in 64 balls, with five fours and a six). They led by 23 runs.
In India's second innings, key contributions came from Yashasvi Jaiswal (118 in 164 balls, with 14 fours and two sixes), Akash Deep (66 in 94 balls, with 12 fours), Ravindra Jadeja (53 in 77 balls, with five fours) and Washington Sundar (53 in 46 balls, with four boundaries and four sixes). Sundar stitched a very crucial 10th wicket stand with Krishna, with the latter scoring nothing out of it and Sundar doing all the hitting.
They all took India to 396 runs, giving them a 373-run lead and setting a target of 374 runs for England to win the series.
India started well, reducing England to 106/3. However, fine centuries from Harry Brook (111 in 98 balls, with 14 fours and two sixes) and Joe Root (105 in 152 balls, with 12 fours) troubled India with a 195-run stand for the fourth wicket. At one point, England was 317/4 on day four. However, a late surge by Siraj (5/104) and Krishna (4/126) shifted the pressure to England, and they were left six runs short, bundled out for 367 runs.
The series is drawn 2-2, reflecting the true nature of how well-fought the series was. The Shubman Gill era has started with immense promise and fight, giving signs of a bright future.