India vs England: Villain yesterday, hero today! Mohammed Siraj provides perfect climax as series ends 2-2 at The Oval

There could be plenty of candidates for the Player of the Series, given the historic series that England and India produced in this Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. However, if you had one standout person from the series across both teams, there would be just one man - Mohammed Siraj. Nobody could have defined the aura of Test cricket and this series better than the man from Hyderabad.

Apart from Chris Woakes, nobody else from both teams played all the five Tests among the bowlers. And remember, Woakes barely bowled at The Oval due to the shoulder dislocation he suffered on the opening day of the Test match. Nobody picked more wickets than Siraj's 23 scalps in the series and most of his scalps were match-turning spells. Throwback to the second day at The Oval when England were going great guns, only for Siraj to produce a three-wicket burst to lead India's fightback. Then, on this final day, with the hosts favouites to seal the series 3-1, Siraj did what he has been doing silently for a long time - deliver for India.

With all the workload management chatter around Jasprit Bumrah, many forgot that Siraj had been ground to dust in this series, bowling as he did tirelessly with the attitude of a roaring line. His bowling action may not be as complicated as Bumrah's and that gives Siraj breathing space but that doesn't take away the extraordinary volume of physical strain he endured across the series, especially when Bumrah wasn't in the XI. Siraj bowled 185 overs in the series, the most across both sides with Woakes being the only other bowler to bowl 180-plus overs. Whenever India needed him, he was there, putting aside all the physical stress with the mental fortitude of a champion.

And yet, things threatened to be different halfway through the fourth day at The Oval. Harry Brook's miscued hook against Prasidh Krishna seemed a straightforward chance at fine leg but Siraj ended up stepping on the ropes after taking the catch. He had just gone off the field for a temporary break and unfortunately for him, was put into a high-action zone straightaway. That is, however, no excuse for the mistake and the way England batted thereafter, it seemed like that mistake would unfairly define Siraj's series. If it had happened, it would have been tragic and perhaps that's why, destiny had other plans. How else can you explain a team losing from 301/3, chasing 374 in reasonably good batting conditions with two centurions at the crease!

Also, for all the talk around Brook's dropped catch, it was his dismissal that opened the floodgates for India, even if the chance was very minimal at that point. With the game and opposition at his mercy, Brook's ill-advised stroke, more of a display of contempt, cost him his wicket and gave India an opening they shouldn't have been given at that point. It still needed the visitors to do a lot more work but for this story to have the perfect ending, it had to be Siraj. It just had to be.

Jamie Smith's wicket was always going to be the game-defining one on the final day of the series, and Siraj was arguably the only bowler capable of starting the day with a bang. And he did, in some style! Jamie Overton, known for his big-hitting, was the next one to go as Siraj's juggernaut rolled on. When England lost their ninth wicket, 17 were still needed and Gus Atkinson brought the required runs down to seven. A series of such epic proportions was getting its blockbuster finale but it needed one final act. It had to be Siraj, again. A near-perfect yorker snuck past Atkinson's heaving blade to make a mess of the furniture and sent the Indians on a frenzy across the ground.

If you look at this series from all parameters, 2-2 has to be the best result. There hasn't arguably been a more closely-fought Test series in recent times. And, nobody could have predicted this scoreline, given that India were starting a transition phase under a new captain and had a largely inexperienced attack.

The focus was on Bumrah and rightly so. But, Siraj's performance this series was a massive statement. He wears his heart on his sleeve, can have a go at the opposition more often than not but his persona is unmatchable. When Liverpool's Diogo Jota passed away in June, Siraj dedicated a wicket celebration to the late Portugese footballer. At The Oval, when England's team dedicated the second day to the late Graham Thorpe by wearing head bands, Siraj also momentarily joined in for a bit. This is what Siraj is. Passionate about whatever he does but beyond all that, he has unwavering love for the game that has always only taught you to love, even amid all the banter and aggression that is inevitable at times.

As Atkinson's wicket fell, you felt like the most flawless movie had got the perfect ending. And there couldn't have been a better hero than Mohammed Siraj.