On Day 4 of the fifth Test of the England-India series, Mohammed Siraj reprieved Harry Brook and gave up six runs off the bowling of Prasidh Krishna, which clearly irritated Gautam Gambhir. During the run-chase, the incident happened on the first delivery of the 35th over.
When Brook hooked the ball into the deep backward square leg region, he failed to make a proper connection. Siraj appeared to be in control for much of the time the ball was in the air, but after making the catch, he stepped on the boundary cushion because he was unable to keep track of it.
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Gambhir was seen placing his palm on his forehead in dismay as the cameras instantly shifted to the dugout.
India’s bowling problems were mirrored in the head coach’s response. Brook, who was 19 at the time, went on to smash 111 off just 98 balls, making the blunder very costly.
At the conclusion of the first session, as the teams were leaving the pitch for lunch, Siraj crossed to embrace Prasidh. The pace-bowling pair appeared to be beaming, but Siraj’s action betrayed his remorse as the opportunity went begging.
With Brook and Root forming a 195-run partnership for the fourth wicket until the former was finally removed by Akash Deep, England further inflicted suffering on India. Brook had taken his team within striking reach of victory after entering the batting order with the hosts far from the target.
India has already lost the 2024–25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy by the same score earlier this year, therefore a loss at the Oval would be their second straight loss by a 3–1 margin in a five-match Test series away from home.
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