How fearsome Indian quick Mohammed Siraj went from meme to hero in sealing historic India win

For a year now that word has made Siraj a meme – “I only believe in Jassi Bhai (Jasprit Bumrah)” he famously quipped after India’s T20 World Cup victory.

As the dust settled on India’s narrowest ever Test win, his captain Shubman Gill borrowed that turn of phrase for himself and his grateful dressing room after Siraj’s gut-busting, Test shaping spell at the Oval.

“We only believe in Siraj bhai.”

Despite that famous 2024 quip, Siraj has never seemed a man short of self-belief, nor could he have ever afforded to.

The son of a rickshaw driver and a maid, Siraj’s cricket journey started with a tennis ball in the narrow lanes of Hyderabad, and he didn’t get his hands on a proper cricket ball until 2015. Just two years later he debuted for India in a T20 against New Zealand.

It was on these shores in 2020 that he made his Test debut, opting to remain with the Indian squad on its tour down under despite the death of his father – the pandemic rules of the time stipulating he’d have had to quarantine for 14 days if he had returned home anyway.

“Virat bhai (Virat Kohli) said, ‘Miyan, don’t take tension. Stay strong because it was your dad’s dream that you do this (play for India), so do that. If you stay strong through this, it will be good for both you and your family,’” Siraj said at the time.

In the space of three Tests in Australia, Siraj went from the rookie of the attack to its most experienced member as India stormed the Gabba to seal the most unlikely of Border-Gavaskar Test series wins.

Siraj took a second-innings five-for in that famous Gabba match and for the longest time that looked destined to be the highlight of his Test cricket.

Burdened with bowling in the shadow of Bumrah, while lacking the guile of Mohammed Shami or the latter day consistency of Ishant Sharma, Siraj has often gotten short shrift from India’s faithful, while his angry eyes and animated reactions have made him easy pickings for opposition fans.

All tour it seemed like the cricketing gods were in on the act too.

In the first Test he copped a public grilling for not doing enough to support Bumrah, in the third Test he was the last man out as India fell 22 short of victory – the ball rolling in slow motion onto his stumps behind him, completely unaware – and on day four of the fifth he trod on the boundary to grant Harry Brook a life on 19 going on 111.

On Monday, he flipped the script.

Like at the Gabba four years ago, once again leading an inexperienced attack in the absence of Jassi Bhai, Siraj claimed the fifth and sweetest five-wicket haul of his career as India clung on for a six-run win.

And the moment couldn’t have come for a more deserving man.

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No bowler was turned to for more overs this series than Siraj, who got through a mammoth 185.3.

That’s 1113 deliveries – it says everything that the 1113th was his fifth fastest for the series.

“We only believe in Siraj bhai.”