Mohammed Siraj – the solitary beacon of hope on the distant English shores

As India and Australia are involved in a sternum-rattling battle at the Oval for the hallowed Mace, at the moment, the pendulum is slanted towards the Aussies with the Indian batters losing steam early in their innings in response to Australia’s mammoth 469. However, things could have been much worse for the Indians, had it not been for Mohammed Siraj’s late resurgence, the pacer heralding a turnaround of events with the mega scalp of Travis Head.

It wasn’t just the second day that belonged to Miyan but he was good enough to leave Australia harried in the wee hours of the first day. With the kind of movement on offer, the Indian bowlers were able to produce a few rippers that would rage at the Aussie batters, with them finding it hard to come to terms with the surface.

The first signs of Siraj’s brutal aggression arrived in the form of a nasty cracker that took Marnus Labuschagne by surprise as the ball hit his gloves, forcing the bat to fall off from the Australian's hands. However, that was simply the tip of the iceberg as the real trouble unfurled on Day 2 with Siraj pouncing on the tail of the Aussies but before he administered the finishing touch, India's star pacer started the rampage with a pearler claiming the big wicket of Head, India’s tormentor-in-chief.

Siraj blazed the trail for his magic with a wobble-seam delivery that kissed the edge of Khwaja’s blade before the ball flew into the safe hands of Srikar Bharat as India drew first blood. Despite the early buzz, the Indian bowlers fizzled away into oblivion as the Australians roared back to life through a heavily-firing Head, perfectly accompanied by a vigilant Steve Smith.

The second day started on a fine note again for the Australians before Mohammed Siraj returned to pepper Head with a flurry of short balls. Up in arms with the volley of nasty rib-rattlers aimed at him from Siraj, Head eventually opened up, hoping to dish out a strong counterblast to Miyan. In the process, however, beaten by Siraj’s raw pace, Head got himself embroiled in a cumbersome position while the cherry would brush his gloves before flying into Bharat's gloves, a wicket that would bring back the Indians in the game.

The wicket of Head filled Siraj with hope and further ambitions to challenge the Aussies head on and he got his second reward of the day and the third of the Test in the form of Nathan Lyon, whose poor footwork would allow Siraj’s nasty delivery to cannon through his defences while a back of a length ball to Cummins went off the bat's edge and to the safe hands of Ajinkya Rahane, ending the Australian innings.

Amongst the battered bowling lot, Siraj finished as the star act of the Indian team, registering numbers of 4/108, and playing a major role in helping bowl Australia out for 469.