Mohammed Siraj woke up on a drizzly morning in south London realising that the time was now. India were up against it and heading towards a fifth Test defeat against England and subsequently a 3-1 series loss. A scoreline that would not reflect the fierce battle between the two sides over 25 days, with each Test meandering to a climax over its full duration.
Siraj had bowled 1,088 balls by this stage. Yet as much as his physical endurance, his composure was tested, too. That misfield on day four at The Oval, stumbling and staggering into the boundary after clutching Harry Brook for, what would have been, a match-turning score of 19. A mistake that cost India 92 runs before the most dramatic of six-run victories.
