Mohammed Siraj emerged as Indias key performer in the most-anticipated five-match Test series against England finishing as the highest wicket-taker with 23 wickets. Siraj played all five Tests and consistently put in strong effort showing great determination from the beginning to the end. “Playing continuously for five Test matches and so much effort till the last match is really commendable and everyone has witnessed that. So much effort was bound to bring a positive result Akash Deep was quoted as saying to Revsportz. Akash Deep on Siraj performance in the five-match Test series When asked about Sirajs performance in the five-match Test series India star pacer Akash Deep offered a very candid and insightful response. “Given how much I have seen him play I cannot say this was the best but he definitely had a different mindset. He wanted us to keep believing that we were going to do it. He gave us constant confidence that we would take wickets. In Test matches sometimes the confidence goes down because we cannot apply T20 tactics but Siraj kept showing us a positive confident body language even in those times when the way forward was unknown he explained. Siraj finished the series as a highest wicket-taker grabbing 23 wickets which included two five wicket hauls and a four-fer. Siraj bowled a total of 185 overs the most by any other bowler in the series. Along with Prasidh Krishna Siraj bowled brilliantly at The Oval bringing England down from a commanding 301/4 to 367 all out while chasing 374. India finished the series with a 2-2 draw India was reduced to 153/6 in the match after England decided to bowl first. The most important aspect of the innings was the 58-run partnership between Washington Sundar (26 off 55 balls with three fours) and Karun Nair (57 off 109 balls with eight fours). India was eventually all out for 224 runs. Along with Gus Atkinson’s impressive five-wicket haul Josh Tongue also made a strong impact by taking 3 wickets for 57 runs. Despite a 92-run opening partnership between Ben Duckett (43 off 38 balls with five fours and two sixes) and Zak Crawley (64 off 57 balls with 14 fours) as well as a fifty by Harry Brook (53 off 64 balls with five fours and a six) Siraj (4/86) and Prasidh Krishna (4/62) reduced England to 247 in the second innings. England had a 23-run lead. Yashasvi Jaiswal (118 off 164 balls with 14 fours and two sixes) Akash Deep (66 off 94 balls with 12 fours) Ravindra Jadeja (53 off 77 balls with five fours) and Washington Sundar (53 off 46 balls with four boundaries and four sixes) all made significant contributions to Indias second innings. Sundar was instrumental in the crucial 10th wicket partnership with Krishna who did not score while Sundar took charge. These contributions helped India to a total of 396 runs creating a commanding lead of 373 runs and setting England a challenging target of 374 runs to win the series.