• Source:JND
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India pacer Mohammed Siraj reflected on his decision to bowl in the final Test against England earlier this year, where his significant spell played a momentous role in claiming triumph for the Shubman Gill-led side and providing a 2-2 draw in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.

Siraj noted that he was optimistic enough to bowl in another Test had there been a sixth match in the series. With the pace ace Jasprit Bumrah being rested on a regular interval and included only in limited Tests, the 31-year-old led India's bowling onslaught and monopolised with the ball.

"Shubman Gill asked me, Kaisi hai teri body?' (How is your body?). I said, "Ekdum first-class'. He asked me if I would play. I said yes. He said, you are the main bowler for us, like Jasprit Bumrah, you decide. I said I'm available and am 100 per cent fit. I will give it everything," Siraj told The Indian Express.

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"As for my body being tired, to be honest, I would have played one more Test if it were there. I didn't feel tired. But I was in a zone. When you enter that zone, you don't know what you are doing, but just have that feeling that I have to do something here," said the star pacer.

Siraj was the leading wicket-taker in the series against England with 23 scalps, including nine in the final Test. Notably, he was given the option to skip the Oval Test due to physical stress concerns, especially with Bumrah's absence promoting him to the team's pace spearhead.

He eventually hogged the proceedings on the final day of the fifth Test and emerged as a hero. After being criticised for touching the boundary ropes after taking England batter Harry Brook's catch on Day 4 of the final Test, Siraj shut all the critics with his bowling exhibition on the final day as India clinched a glorious win.

"It was a script written for me from somewhere up there. From getting bowled in Lords (the Test that India lost), then reaching the Oval. Then I took a catch (of Harry Brook) and touched the boundary. Everything was written for me. It was a script from God. When I woke up on that final morning, they needed 35 runs."

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"I told myself that this game wouldn't go beyond an hour and that I will win this match. The match was to start at 11 am and the team bus would leave by 9 am. I woke up at 6 am! I asked myself, "Why did I wake up so early today?' I had woken up suddenly. After that, I wrote down, I can do this, win the game," said the star pacer.

"When the ball came out of my hand, the execution was exactly how I was thinking; it's a good sign. God had written, "Ja hero ban ja tu, become a hero." Siraj added.

(With IANS Inputs)