IND vs ENG Test | Tired, tested & triumphant: India squares series at Oval | Cricket News

LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 04: Mohammed Siraj of India celebrates with crew mates after taking the wicket of Jamie Overton of England throughout day 5 of the fifth Rothesay Test Match between England and India at The Kia Oval on August 04, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Ben Hoskins/Getty Images for Surrey CCC)

London: Under gloomy skies right here at the floodlit Oval, a rare series fittingly discovered its last act with some heart-stopping moments and the narrowest victory margin for India in a Test match.After 53 deliveries on the ultimate day, it was Shubman Gill’s younger facet that held its nerve to clinch a thriller as England, which had unbelievably seemed like chasing down 374, fell quick by six runs.There was little to separate the groups within the series, and with India profitable the fifth Test, the inaugural Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy ended with a 2-2 scoreline after 25 days of blockbuster cricket.No Test series in current occasions has seized the creativeness fairly like this one, and India’s victory lap made it clear what they considered the preseries prophecies of a rout.

The guests discovered heroes for each problem via the gruelling English summer time. On Monday, with every part on the road, it was pacer Mohammed Siraj who bowled the crew to one of many facet’s most exceptional victories. As Gus Atkinson’s offstump rested flat on the sq., felled by a vicious yorker after 56 minutes of gripping cricket, Siraj set off for a celebratory run.That spell of 5/104 in 30.1 overs of relentless seam bowling will now be etched in daring letters within the historical past books of Indian cricket.India not solely drew the series, however received over followers and critics who doubted their probabilities underneath an untested younger captain. It was a efficiency for the ages.On the final day of a series which had refused to uninteresting down over the past two months, the gang thronged the stadium to look at what was anticipated to be a tense end. The gentle drizzle aided swing and added additional drama.Siraj and Prasidh Krishna made these 35 runs really feel like a lifetime away for the English batters. In a dream spell of swing bowling, Siraj took three wickets for 9 runs and Krishna completed with eventual figures of 4/126.

You couldn’t tear your eyes away from the spectacle even in case you tried. A determined England finally pressured out the wounded Chris Woakes to face the music. Woakes walked down the steps and to the pitch, his dislocated left arm tucked underneath his jumper, to present Gus Atkinson firm with 17 runs and a wicket remaining.The second once more underlined how the series has pushed each groups to their limits, each bodily and psychologically.

The stadium erupted as Siraj’s yorker thundered into Atkinson’s stumps at 11.56 am. Seconds later, amazingly, the sector was engulfed in silence. The English followers had been surprised and the Indian supporters speechless. The crowd discovered its voice once more solely when Gill’s crew took the lap of honour.When play began, Jamie Overton strode out to the center, wielding his willow like a sledgehammer. He smacked the primary ball of the day, bowled by Krishna, for a boundary previous square-leg.

The second ball hit his inside edge and went for one more boundary. However, there was no method Siraj and Krishna had been letting England get away with chasing down one other 370-plus goal, like they did at the beginning of the series in Headingley.“Each and everyone in the dressing room had the belief that we’ll win the match from here. When you have bowlers like Siraj, 35 runs look a lot. Even when there were 50-60 runs left, we knew we had enough to play with,” Gill mentioned. Siraj, hurting ever since he stepped on the boundary line whereas catching Harry Brook on Sunday, was eager to make amends. “I was feeling, why did it happen to me? God must have written something good for me,” Siraj mentioned later.

The climate gods did appear to conspire to favour him, with overhead circumstances getting so heavy that Siraj might dart the ball round at will. Siraj and Krishna had the time to get better totally from the injuries inflicted by Brook and Joe Root’s centuries on Sunday afternoon.On Day Five, England had been responsible of being nervy, edgy and in a rush to complete the sport. Atkinson nailed a sq. drive off Krishna, just for Ravindra For the primary time, India have received the Jadeja to glide throughout the turf from third-man to cease the ball at the purpose boundary.

Siraj saved egging the gang on whilst Jurel missed operating out Woakes whereas stealing a bye to maintain Atkinson on strike. It appeared everybody on the sector was about to wither underneath the intense stress of the scenario. But Siraj held his nerve and delivered the knockout blow.