Who said what - top 5 expert reactions to Mohammed Siraj's match-winning heroics in ENG vs IND 2025 5th Test ft. Sunil Gavaskar 

Team India pacer Mohammed Siraj finally had his moment after his five-wicket haul was the difference maker in the narrow six-run win over England in the fifth Test at The Oval. He bagged three wickets on the final day in a spell for the ages to end the series with a 2-2 scoreline.

As the leader of the bowling attack without Jasprit Bumrah, the responsibility fell on Siraj to step up. The Indian bowling unit had sown the seeds with three quick wickets to keep India alive after a deflating second session. With the visitors still needing four wickets for a famous win, the spearhead stepped up.

He claimed Jamie Smith's crucial wicket with a wicked outswinger, before using the nip-backer to trap Jamie Overton. He then castled Gus Atkinson with a searing yorker to bring the series to a close in some style.

On that note, let us take a look at the top 5 expert reactions to Mohammed Siraj's match-winning heroics in ENG vs IND 2025 5th Test.

#1 Aakash Chopra

The former India opener urged fans to appreciate Mohammed Siraj's efforts even more after his stunning display of skill on top of his well-documented workload. He even compared the pacer's seam position to that of James Anderson, and praised his ability to move the ball away and into the batter.

"Are we celebrating him enough? Appreciating and acknowledging is on one side, this guy needs to be celebrated. At times, you have such fantastic skill that you focus on it so much, that's (Jasprit) Bumrah, that the hard-working guy is left a little behind. Siraj is hard-working. He puts his body and mind into it," Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

"Not that he doesn't have the skills. The ball that was releasing from his hands this time, the seam was upright. If I show you just the seam, you might say it's Jimmy Anderson or Mohammad Shami. The seam was so straight, and the ball was swinging away. Then he scrambles the seam a little and moves the ball in, which is three to five kph quicker, and goes and hits the pads," he added.

#2 Sanjay Bangar

The former India player opined that Mohammed Siraj should have been considered for the player of the series award, which eventually went to skipper Shubman Gill for his imperious campaign worth 754 runs in the five-match Test series.

Siraj ended the series with 23 wickets, and was named player of the match in the fifth Test for his nine wickets, which included a five-wicket haul in the second innings.

"KL came very close for me but I couldn't take it away from Mohammed Siraj. Purely for the reason that he bowled his heart out and bowled the most number of overs in the series. Bowled the fastest ball of the series on the last day of the tour and was looking to get wickets all the time," Bangar said on ESPN Cricinfo.

#3 Dinesh Karthik

The former India wicket-keeper praised Siraj's belief, and for stepping up for the side when the game was considered to be out of the visitors' hands entirely. He noted how Siraj's speeds never went down despite the fact that he had bowled over a thousand deliveries in the series, and hailed him for somehow maintaining the same intensity throughout without a blip.

"It is not just today. He's walked in today, wanting to be the man to do it. He said he had a screenshot of a wallpaper saying, 'believe'. And that says how much it means to him in Test cricket. He has bowled like an absolute warrior. He has done the donkey's work for five Test matches. Every time they needed a spell, he has come in and bowled at 85 and 86 mph, and today he hit 90 mph. Couldn't be more proud of him as a bowler. He's worked hard and he values Test cricket and that is why this win is so important," Dinesh Karthik said on Sky Sports.

#4 Sunil Gavaskar

The legendary Indian cricketer stated that Siraj is a walking example of how bowling workload is just modern-day jargon, and urged other players to step up like him, and bear the pain and fatigue for the country.

"For five Test matches non-stop, he has bowled 6,7,8-over spells because the captain wanted it and the country expected it of him. We all should keep that in mind that this workload is only a mental thing and not so much a physical thing," Gavaskar said on Sony Sports Network.

"And if you are going to succumb to people talking about workload, then you are never going to have your best players on the field. You've got to get them to a situation where you say, 'Hello, you are playing for your country'. When you are playing for your country, forget the aches and pains and muscles and whatever," he added.

#5 Stuart Broad

The former England bowler stated that Siraj deserved the moment in the end for being on the wrong end of some heartbreaking moments in the series, as well as for all the hard work he has put in to help India get across the line over the course of the gruelling five-match affair.

"I am delighted for Mohammad Siraj. Hopefully, I get an opportunity to shake his hands because I was worried yesterday that we would be talking about that catch ( Brook's drop). And it would be the catch he would be boarding that plane home and going, 'If I would have taken that catch, could things have been different?'" Broad said on Sky Sports.

"For a bowler that's given everything in this series, he deserved to get the final wicket and be remembered for bowling his team to an enthralling Test match victory rather than a mistake on the boundary," he added.