London: Mohammed Siraj was seen wearing a headband on Day 2 of the fifth Test against England at The Oval, paying tribute to the late Graham Thorpe. Born on this day in 1969, Thorpe passed away on August 4 last year. A former England great, he played 100 Tests, scoring 6,744 runs at an average of 44.66, and featured in 82 ODIs, amassing 2,380 runs.
Notably, the day started with all the England players wearing a headband featuring Thorpe. Even the English commentators – Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton were wearing the same. The England players also clicked a photo with the headband on. However, it was on the final session of the day when Mohammed Siraj donned the headband and clinched the final wicket of England, dismissing Harry Brook for 53 runs.
In the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, Siraj and Prasidh Krishna wreaked havoc and clinched four wickets each. The day didn’t start well for the Shubman Gill-led side as they lost wickets at regular intervals, being bundled for 224 runs. In reply, England openers Zak Crawley smacked a half-century, while Ben Duckett made 43 runs. After they handed a perfect start, the hosts were expected to put India in a tough spot, but that didn’t happen.
England lost quick wickets as well, but it was Brook who stood tall. He tried to build a partnership with the middle, but there was very little support in the middle. However, he kept going and courtesy of his half-century, England managed a lead of 23 runs.
For India, Prasidh and Siraj showed intent. They didn’t start well but once they found momentum, the England batters found it difficult to get going. Meanwhile, with the four-wicket haul, Siraj now has 18 wickets to his name – the most by any bowler in the ongoing series.
