‘Believe’ emoji fuelled Siraj to mount epic fightback at Oval

New delhi: The word impossible is not a part of Mohammed Siraj’s dictionary as he always believed that he can win the final Test for India from any point of time.

“I woke up in the morning and checked google on my phone and took out a ‘Believe’ emoji wallpaper and told myself that I will do it for the country.”

Without Jasprit Bumrah, the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) of Telangana Police bowled 185.3 overs with 23 wickets and it couldn’t have been more fitting that he earned India a win for posterity.

“I always believe that I can win the game from any point, and did to the morning,” Siraj told Dinesh Karthik in a post-match chat.

Having consistently troubled the English batters, Siraj finished with 5/104 in 30.1 overs and a match haul of nine wickets.

His feet touched the boundary rope while trying to catch Harry Brook when he was on 19 and he scored a smashing ton when it looked like the match slipping from India’s grasp. “I didn’t think I’d touch the cushion when I took it. It was a match-changing moment. Brook got into T20 moment. We were behind the game after that but Thank God. I thought the match was gone,” Siraj said.