Siraj's Bizarre Lord's Dismissal A Painful Reminder Of Srinath's 1999 Chennai Heartbreak Vs Pakistan
It wasn't meant to be.
How else do you explain Mohammed Siraj getting bowled despite middling the ball delivered by Shoaib Bashir – bowling with a broken finger? Of course, batting isn't Siraj's strongest suit but the manner in which he had survived the charging English bowlers on a fifth day pitch while giving company to Ravindra Jadeja, the attempt did reignite diminishing Indian hopes of an unlikely win in the third Test.
Siraj offered a dead bat, the ball crashed against the blade but thanks to the bowler imparting overspin, it spun back and rolled to collide with the stumps with the impact strong enough to dislodge the bail. It was the wicket England needed to seal a thrilling 22-run win and the dismissal sparked wild celebrations. Siraj, as expected, was crestfallen.
It was an agonising end to the contest for the Indian fans who may have lost their hopes early in the day's play when Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer combined to trigger a collapse from where it appeared there's no turning back. Jadeja kept the flag aloft and found some support from no. 10 Jasprit Bumrah and then Siraj to keep the scoreboard ticking and hopes alive. It ended in a heartbreak for the tourists.
Shoaib Bashir bowling out Siraj today to seal the win felt eerily like Saqlain Mushtaq dismissing Srinath in that epic 1999 Chennai Test. History has a strange way of echoing. Who says Test cricket isn't thrilling? #ENGvIND #PAKvIND #TestCricket #Nostalgia pic.twitter.com/oVlCpna3ME — Maham Fazal (@MahamFazal_) July 14, 2025
The scenes were eerily similar to another Test match that India lost way back in 1999 to Pakistan in Chennai. Back then, chasing a target of 271, a Sachin Tendulkar century and Nayan Mongia's patient fifty kept India in the contest despite a batting collapse.
While at Lord's, India had a quality batter in Jadeja to keep the ship from sinking, in Chennai, the task was left to two tailenders in Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad.
The contest ended with an Indian defeat, by 12 runs with Srinath being the last man to fall. He, too, like Siraj, fell to an offspinner in Saqlain Mushtaq. Again, like Siraj, Srinath too offered a solid defensive shot, but the ball spun after landing on the pitch and skip through his gates to crash onto the stumps, breaking a million Indian hearts.
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