India bounced back in the recently concluded Test series in style as they beat England by six runs in the final Test at the Oval and held the hosts to a 2-2 draw.
It was a momentous turnaround for the Indian side, as at one point England were cruising towards victory in the fifth Test, with Harry Brook and Joe Root scoring a century each in the second innings.
However, it was Mohammed Siraj's heroics in the final day as he claimed a fifer and cleaned up the English tail to guide India to a memorable victory at the Oval.
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With nine wickets overall in the fifth Test, Siraj ended up being the highest wicket-taker in the series with 23 scalps to his name in nine innings.
India captain Shubman Gill, on the other hand, ended the series with 754 runs to his name in nine innings and was the highest run scorer.
Revealed: Not Shubman Gill but Mohammed Siraj was Brendon McCullum's choice of MOTS
On Day 4 of the fifth Test, at a point when it seemed that England would clearly clinch the game and the series 3-1, England coach Brendon McCullum was asked to give his pick for India's Man of the Series and the Kiwi coach named Gill as his choice due to his exceptional form with the bat.
However, Siraj turned things around dramatically on Day 5 and ended up picking five wickets in the second innings.
READ: How Siraj turned hero to zero and helped India beat England at The Oval
As per Sky Sports pundit and former India cricketer Dinesh Karthik, McCullum wanted to change his choice to Siraj after seeing the bowler's exploits on the final day, however, as the name was also ready forwarded to the presenter Michael Atherton, the name couldn't be changed in the eleventh hour.
Speaking to Cricbuzz, DK said: "If the match had gotten over yesterday (Day 4), Shubman Gill was the man of the series. Brendon McCullum had said Shubman Gill. And obviously, Atherton was the one doing the presentation. So, he had all the questions ready. Everything was for Shubman Gill.
"Match got over today and Baz McCullum turned it around in a matter of half an hour, 40 minutes to Mohammed Siraj," Karthik added. “He even spoke about him in the post-match with Sky Sports — about how he enjoyed watching Siraj bowl and all the eloquent things he had to say about him."
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What did Brendon McCullum say about Mohammed Siraj?
The England boss heaped praise on the Indian fast bowler, as he later said: "He’s got that spirit you want to see in a fast bowler. Every time he had the ball in hand, there was energy. You could see how much it meant to him. It was one of those spells that can change a series, and today, it really did."
What next for the Indian Test cricket team?
The Indian Test team will return to action in October, when they face West Indies in a two-match series on home soil.