London, Aug 4 (IANS) Mohammed Siraj went from dropping a catch offered by Harry Brook to rocking Gus Atkinson’s off-stump to end up with a sensational five-wicket haul and help India seal an extraordinary six-run win in the fifth Test against England and force a 2-2 series draw.

Resuming from the overnight score of 339/6, England needed 35 runs to win while India needed to pick four wickets for a miraculous victory on a dramatic fifth day. On the last day of action of a riveting Test series, Siraj picked up from where he left off on day four – being in exceptional rhythm to pick 5-104 in 30.1 overs and seal a memorable fightback win for India.

Siraj and Prasidh Krishna, who took 4-126 in 27 overs, combined forces to ensure England lost their remaining four wickets for 28 runs and give the series a fitting finale through a bowling performance for ages. The unbelievable win in the fifth Test is also India’s narrowest-ever victory in Test cricket.

With a slight drizzle and loud claps from a sold-out crowd adding to the nail-biting drama at The Oval, Jamie Overton gave the hosts a perfect start by pulling the first ball from Prasidh Krishna authoritatively for four, before getting an under-edge to run past stumps and collect another boundary.

But India made an immediate breakthrough when Jamie Smith tried to poke at a short-of-the-length-ball from Siraj, but edged behind to Dhruv Jurel, who grabbed a crucial low catch to dismiss the keeper-batter for two.

With the old ball talking, Siraj then managed to find the outside edge of Gus Atkinson, but it landed just short of the slip cordon. After Overton’s pull brought up England’s 350, Atkinson eked out three runs on the cut, as Ravindra Jadeja’s brilliant dive at deep cover denied him a boundary.

Siraj provided another vital breakthrough for India when his fullish wobble seam nip-backer trapped Overton lbw for nine. Though the batter reviewed immediately, the impact of being umpire’s call meant India inched closer towards making the series scoreline 2-2.

India’s decision to persist with the old ball nearly paid off when Prasidh trapped Josh Tongue lbw, but the review came to England’s rescue as replays showed the ball missing leg-stump. Shortly after a slip fielder was sent to third-man position in anticipation of a bouncer, a brilliant Prasidh put India on the brink of victory by castling Tongue with a 141kmph yorker.

With Chris Woakes coming out to bat despite the left arm in a sling, Atkinson went for a slog off Siraj, and Akash Deep palmed it over the wide long-on boundary for six. Atkinson didn’t take a single till the last ball of the 84th over, as he retained the strike and Woakes survived a run-out attempt from Jurel.

After a heave fetched Atkinson two runs, he managed to take an easy single to mid-on and retain strike for the next over. But Siraj triggered joyful scenes in the Indian camp by casting Atkinson with a yorker hitting off-stump to seal a famous and miraculous Test match victory for the visitors on the last day of a riveting series.

Brief scores:

India 224 and 396 beat England 247 and 367 all out in 85.1 overs (Harry Brook 111, Joe Root 105; Mohammed Siraj 5-104, Prasidh Krishna 4-126) by six runs

–IANS

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