India defeated England by six runs in a dramatic finish at The Oval, sealing their narrowest Test victory in history after a tense final day that had the packed crowd on edge. Mohammed Siraj delivered a match-winning spell, taking five wickets and redeeming himself in a gripping last hour that will be remembered as one of Test cricket’s great climaxes.
The series decider came alive on the fifth morning with England needing 35 runs and India chasing three wickets. The equation seemed to favor England after Jamie Overton struck two early boundaries off Prasidh Krishna, but Siraj’s relentless pace and reverse swing shifted the contest.
He dismissed Jamie Smith with a fine edge to the keeper before trapping Overton leg-before with a full inswinger. Prasidh Krishna joined the surge, bowling Josh Tongue with a yorker to leave England nine down and still short of their 373-run target.
At 357 for 9, all eyes turned to Chris Woakes, who came out with his left arm in a sling after dislocating his shoulder. His only task was survival, while last man Gus Atkinson tried to score the remaining runs.
Despite conceding a late boundary and several singles that put the match on a knife-edge, Siraj executed his task with clinical precision.
The final delivery was a tactical masterstroke: a perfectly targeted yorker that left Atkinson with no answer.
The subsequent celebration from the Indian team was a release of the immense pressure that had built throughout the final session.
Siraj keeps his approach brutally simple. His comment after the match said it all: “It was all about fighting till the last ball.” The stats are incredible, of course—a five-fer and nine wickets in the match. But frankly, you didn’t need a scorecard to know he was the one who won them the game.
Stokesy backed his guys after the loss, and you can’t blame him. When Root and Brook were out there both smashing hundreds, you really thought England was going to pull it off. It’s just a shame the others couldn’t finish the job.
That final day was a perfect summary of the whole series—just back-and-forth chaos. It felt like watching that 2005 Edgbaston game all over again. India stealing it by just six runs at the end? That’s a win their fans will never, ever forget.
