India's thrilling six-run victory over England at The Oval not only tied the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at 2-2 but also brought back memories of the most engrossing Test struggles in recent times.
Former England spinner Monty Panesar praised the hotly contested series as the most thrilling Test encounter since the iconic 2005 Ashes between England and Australia.
In a heart-stopping last day in London, Mohammed Siraj spearheaded India's comeback with a sensational five-wicket performance. The visitors pulled off an incredible recovery, taking four wickets at a burst to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat and level the five-match series.
"It's been a iconic win for India. They played fantastic, fantastic cricket. And yesterday, we sort of thought when Joe Root and Harry Brook were batting that this was beyond them. But the conditions this morning clearly suited India with the positions of seam, and the important thing was they didn't take the new ball. And with the old ball, Siraj was phenomenal, and Krishna too got that length a bit fuller. And it's an iconic win, maybe the most thrilling series since 2005, between England and Australia," Panesar said to IANS on Monday.
The third day ended with the two teams locked in combat — England 339/6 at the crease needed only 35 runs to win the match, while four wickets were needed by India to stay alive in the series. Siraj, hot in form after his Day 4 outing, continued on the same wavelength, ending with richly deserving figures of 5 for 104 from 30.1 overs.
Prasidh Krishna was instrumental with 4 for 126 from 27 overs. The pair tore through England's tail, who cost them just 28 runs between them as they claimed the last four wickets — a performance that sealed the historic victory and wrote another nail-biting chapter into India's Test history. The narrow win margin was also India's closest ever Test match victory.
Panesar added, "And I think there will be more five-Test series between England and India in the future. And the excitement, all of it has been absolutely fantastic. And we speak about, well, you know, how great England and India were. I think India possibly played the better cricket. But on the whole, it's been a brilliant, brilliant Test series between England and India."
Siraj's unrelenting consistency throughout the series was a standout — he remained the lone fast bowler to play all five games. With paceman Jasprit Bumrah ruled out for the decider, Siraj's fiery performance earned him the Player of the Match and cemented his place as India's pace warrior in this historic match.
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