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India pace spearhead Mohammed Siraj opened up about the heartbreak he endured during the third Test at Lord's and spilt the beans about the message Ravindra Jadeja gave him before the ill-fated moment settled the fate of the contest.
In the final hour of the third Test, Jadeja and Siraj's stubborn resistance act continued to keep India's slim hopes of victory alive. Jadeja took a single on the third delivery, leaving Siraj to negate the last three deliveries of an injured Shoaib Bashir. On the penultimate delivery, Siraj lunged forward and defended the ball with the middle of the bat, but the overspin directed the ball back into the stumps. Siraj was in disbelief. The 13-over act of resistance was shrouded in the colour of defeat. Siraj sank to his knees, his anguish palpable, head bowed and overwhelmed with emotions, as England erupted in jubilation with a 22-run victory. Siraj revealed that during their defiant act, Jadeja asked him to back his technique, remember his late father and do it for him. "Lord's was heartbreaking. Jaddu bhai told me to back my defence and remember my dad, and do it for him," Siraj said after being adjudged Player of the Match in the post-match presentation in the fifth Test at the Oval. Siraj kept his chin high and continued to put in the hard yards for India in Manchester and London. He set the tone in India's favour at the end of the third day during their 373-run defence. India played a double bluff by setting up the field for a 'sweet chin music', but Siraj bowled a searing, angling yorker to rattle Zak Crawley's timber on 14(36). He returned on the fourth day, bowled his heart out in the opening hour, and pinned stand-in captain Ollie Pope to tilt the scales in India's favour. However, he was found guilty of giving the in-form Harry Brook a second life at 19, following a blunder at the boundary rope. With India standing four wickets away from levelling the series with 35 runs to defend, Siraj redeemed himself on the final day. He put the final nail in the coffin by nailing the yorker to rattle Gus Atkinson's stumps to seal a six-run victory, finishing with a sizzling five-for in the second innings and overall match figures of 9/190. (ANI)
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