ENG vs IND: "Mohammed Siraj has the absolute heart of a lion"- Brendon McCullum amazed by India pacer's incredible effort

Mohammed Siraj won Player of the Match award in The Oval test for his 5/104 in the second innings.

After India managed to draw the recently finished five-match series 2-2, England head coach Brendon McCullum was left in awe of Mohammed Siraj and the team’s tenacity.

On day five of the fifth test, Siraj bowled an incredible session, taking three of England’s final four wickets in the second innings and assisting India in achieving their closest victory by six runs.

Even though he had the most work to do during the series, Siraj gave it his all on the last day, helping India pull a triumph out of the jaws of loss and secure a series draw. Mohammed Siraj bowled over 1100 balls in the series, playing all five tests, and picked up 23 wickets with two five-wicket hauls.

An incredible effort: Brendon McCullum praises Mohammed Siraj for his bowling on day five of the Oval test

Following his tireless spell on day five, McCullum praised Siraj for having the heart of a lion and said that India deserved to win the match.

“The way India was late on in this test, Mohammed Siraj has the absolute heart of a lion to bowl 90 mph in his 30th over of his fifth test match. It’s quite an incredible effort. As much as we got ourselves in a winning position in this Test match, I feel like they deserved to win. They played better cricket,” McCullum was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.

McCullum also commended India for their stoicism and said that they threw everything at them.

“We threw everything at them in the series. It was a testament to how stoic they are as a team. We knew when they turned up in England it would be a very stern challenge, and we’d have to play excellent cricket to get the result we wanted,” he added.

With a strong start to the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) cycle 2025–27 in England, India will be looking to build on their recent success when they host the West Indies and South Africa in October and November.

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