Team India pacer Mohammed Siraj revealed that they had plans to skittle England on day four of the fifth Test itself instead of returning on day five to complete the job. At the time, the right-arm speedster said he was ecstatic that the fans got to come back and witness the incredible moment at The Oval.
The winning moment occurred as the right-arm speedster came on to bowl his 31st over of the innings and flattened Gus Atkinson's off-stump to send Team India and its fans ballistic at The Oval. The 31-year-old had also completed his five-wicket haul in the process as Team India scripted a stunning comeback to level the series.
Speaking on the presser, the Hyderabad-born cricketer stated:
"Kal hum logon ke paas momentum aa gaya tha kyunki Krishna ne Root aur Bethell ko out kiya tha. Momentum humaare paas tha, jaise ball chal raha tha kal, jitna ho sake kal hee lipta dene ke liye soche they but upar waale ne kuch accha hee dikhaaya tha. Phir bulaaya aur 1.4 billion people are happy, toh bahut hee accha hai." (We had the momentum yesterday because Prasidh Krishna had dismissed Root and Bethell. Momentum was with us, especially how well the ball was moving. We wanted to finish it off yesterday but god had other plans. He called us again and 1.4 billion people are happy.)
"When I woke up today, I thought I could do it" - Mohammed Siraj
Having won the Player of the Match award for his nine wickets in the series, Siraj disclosed that he downloaded a picture on his phone named 'believe', denoting that he trusted himself to seal the victory for India.
"I feel amazing because we fought hard from day one til now. My plan was to hit my areas consistently and build pressure. Everything from there was a bonus. When I woke up today, I thought I could do it. I downloaded a picture from Google saying 'believe.' I thought the Brook drop was a game-changing moment. If it had been taken, we might not have come out today."
In the process, Siraj has also finished the series with the most wickets, picking up 23 scalps in nine innings at 32.43. He is also the only Indian pacer to play all five Tests in the tour.
