It's not easy being Mohammad Siraj in Indian cricket over the last few years with the giant shadow of the great Jasprit Bumrah hovering all over him.
For a relentless warrior like Siraj, the desired results were just not coming through in the Anderson Tendulkar Trophy despite him beating England batters fair and square in the series but unable to find just that faint nick.
For all the hard work and belief that he was putting in, Siraj's moment had not yet come and even at The Oval until Monday, Prasidh Krishna was doing all the wicket-taking.
However, belief is a huge word in Siraj's dictionary and the 31-year-old Hyderabadi invested all his heart in that one word and boy did it pay dividends on a manic Monday at The Oval.
From waking up at 6 am and changing his wallpaper with Cristiano Ronaldo's now iconic 'Siuuu' celebration pose and exhorting himself to do what is required in the team's best interests, Siraj has brought in a whole new dimension to a basic principle in life.
By scalping three crucial wickets out of four and sealing India's narrowest victory in Test history, Siraj has now carved the most defining moment of his career, if not the turning point.
Panned by Indian fans and experts after he messed up a catch offered by Harry Brook in the deep after his feet touched the ropes while collecting it, Siraj was under the pump with the game reaching a climax heading into the fifth day.
For a pacer who has bowled 1113 deliveries in the five-match Test series and picked up 23 wickets, Siraj was bowling like a man possessed with no signs of weariness whatsoever.
Test after Test, he turned up to do the job for India, win or lose or draw.
Siraj's 6/70 in the first innings of the second Test in Birmingham was critical for India to win the Test eventually with Akash Deep chipping in with own six-wicket haul in the second essay.
What happened at The Oval will forever be part of Indian cricketing folklore and Siraj, one must say, has well and truly come out of the perpetual shadow of Bumrah to emerge as the nation's hero when it matters.
What essentially works in Siraj's favour is his intensity and tenacity of doing the simple yet critical things that matter.
There have been six times since his debut that Siraj was denied by the umpire's call while only two have gone in his favour but the Hyderabadi chugged along with no complaints.
When the team's pace spearhead pre-decided before the series to play only three Tests citing workload management, the decision led to a fair amount of debate and discussion among the experts.
With the likes of the legendary Sunil Gavaskar firmly against the concept of workload management or rather the pick and choose policy of playing matches, Siraj has now shown the way forward with his unwavering commitment and dedication to the team's cause.
As Indian cricket wakes up to a new dawn post the epic Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy drawn series, head coach Gautam Gambhir and skipper Shubman Gill now have a genuine match-winner and hero in Mohammad Siraj to further their cause of taking Indian cricket to the pinnacle of Test cricket.
