Siraj's Believe Wallpaper to Gavaskar's Lucky Coat: A Tale of India's Fightback
The series that saw record-breaking performances from both teams also saw raw emotions and some bizarre sentiments
By : DC Web Desk
Update: 2025-08-05 14:07 GMT
Shubman Gill-led team India had literally come back from the claws of defeat on Monday evening, registering their narrowest-ever victory in a Test match against England to level the five match series 2-2.
Interestingly, the series saw final day contests in all the five matches.
The competitive atmosphere prompted players from both camps to give-in their all -- India's Rishabh Pant walked out to bat with a toe fracture in the fourth test and scored a half century, while England's paceman Chris Woakes decided to put his body on the line when he walked out to bat with a shoulder injury.
The series that saw record-breaking performances from both teams (including Shubman Gill's 754 runs or Ben Stokes century and fifer as captain in a test) also saw raw emotions and sentiments .
Siraj's 'believe' system:
The star of the series-deciding final match, Mohammed Siraj told the reporters after his heroics at The Oval that he put a 'believe' wallpaper on his phone before the start of Day 5.
"I woke up in the morning and checked google on my phone and took out a 'Believe' wallpaper and told myself that I will do it for the country," Siraj said, showing a wallpaper on his phone with Ronaldo's image.
"I always believe that I can win the game from any point, and did on the morning," Siraj told Dinesh Karthik in a post match chat for Jio Hotstar.
While Siraj drew inspiration from Ronaldo's famous quote (If you don't believe you are the best, then you will never achieve all that you are capable of) he inspired the next generation to pick up the cricket ball after his thrilling feat at The Oval.
Siraj ended the tour as the highest wicket taker (23).
Gavaskar's promise to Gill:
Just a few days before the captivating final day of the fifth test, India's legendary batter Sunil Gavaskar met captain Shubman Gill and gifted him a signed cap and t-shirt with initials 'SG'. A moment which many believed as a praise for Gill scoring 754 runs in the series. (20 runs short of breaking Gavaskar's record)
During their meeting, Gavaskar promised to wear his special white coat on day 5, the coat he wore on the final day of 2021 Gabba Test, where India registered a historic win.
Keeping his word Gavaskar donned the lucky coat and the result followed.
'Garden' Boys Connection:
India young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal ended the tour with a skillful century at the Oval.
Making it more memorable, he crafted the innings in front of his parents and his 'Rohit bhai'.
During the post match presentation, Jaiswal revealed how Rohit Sharma's message helped him plan his innings.
"I saw Rohit bhai and said hi. He gave me the message to keep playing."
"I think that's how you need to plan your game. I need to plan my game, my innings, where my shots are and where I'm going to score runs. So, of course, I keep getting all these messages and playing with the seniors as long as I have played with Rohit Bhai, Virat Bhai. So, playing with them as well helped me a lot grow as a person and seeing them, what they have done in Test cricket, how they have prepared themselves," he told the reporters.
This one's for my Sister:
Coming into the Indian squad as a replacement for pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, Akash Deep looked menacing at Edgbaston scalping ten wickets in the second test.
His remarkable feat helped India win their first match in the series.
However, he melted the hearts of many after the match when he revealed his sister's battle with cancer.
Dedicating his performance to sister, Akash Deep told Sony Sports, “I have not told this to anyone. My elder sister has been suffering from cancer for the last two months. She is stable now and doing fine. I think she will be the happiest seeing my performance. I want to dedicate this match to her. I just wanted to see a smile on her face.”
He contributed with the bat in the final test by exceeding his stay as a night watchman. He roared with a dominating 66 runs in the second inning that included 12 boundaries.
Karun Nair Breaks Down:
After making a historic comeback, the right-handed batter failed to make the most of the opportunity. A picture of Karun Nair on Day 3 of the Lord's test went viral across social media platforms, where the Karnataka batter was seen visibly sad and was being consoled by long-time friend KL Rahul.
The 31-year-old was later dropped for the fourth test and was included in the playing XI again for the final test, where he scored a half century.
Karun Nair ended the series with 205 runs in 8 innings.