IND vs ENG | The Lord’s last-ball back story: Starring Mohammed Siraj, Shoaib Bashir

Mohammed Siraj and Shoaib Bashir aren’t the kinds who give up easily. Had that been the case they wouldn’t have reached this far – at Lord’s pitted against each other in the final moments of the Test that mattered so much to so many.

England had tasked Bashir to get them that last one wicket, India wanted Siraj to just stick around with Ravindra Jadeja for a bit more. And then came that Bashir ball with bounce that Siraj stoutly defended with the middle of his bat. But it somehow, on landing, spun magically like a top, traced a semi-circular path around the batsman and gave a light tap on the stump.

Just one bail dropped and two incredible stories got contrasting ends. One joyful, the other sad but both engaging and inspiring.

Siraj and Bashir prove that it isn’t cards you are dealt but how you play the hand. At Lord’s, like in their lives, they endured pain, defied odds and fought gamely till fate announced the day’s winners.

Nadeem Amin is the assistant coach at Gujarat Titans, the IPL franchise that Siraj plays for. This last season, he got a chance to work closely with the India pacer. He helps to understand the mindset of the player whose energy levels or optimism never fade.

Regardless of the match-situation, Siraj never stops sprinting when bowling. Ambling or trotting, that’s not for him. The pacer appeals for everything. He fights, screams and sledges.

What’s that one word that comes to his mind when he hears Mohammed Siraj? “He is a warrior. He wants to fight all the time. He’s always in the battle. It’s unbelievable if you watch him train, he runs in hard, there are no half measures,” he says. “You’ll see him give 100 percent—whether it’s bowling, fielding, batting. He wants to be in the game, wants to be involved. He’s that kind of guy, if he is injured mid-over, he will still give you 100% on one leg.”

Bashir, at Lord’s, gave 100 per cent with just one hand. Earlier in the game, while stopping a fierce Ravindra Jadeja straight drive, the tall 21-year-old fractured the little finger of his left-hand. He was ruled out of the series but he still took the field. He would field and also bowl. He grimaced in pain when his non-bowling hand would got jerked by the rigour of imparting spin on an unresponsive track.

With India not too far away from an unlikely win and England close to embarrassment, Stokes threw the ball to the team’s baby- Bash. Historically, physical injuries or medical advice don’t intimidate Bashir, they don’t keep him away from cricket anyway.

Olly Birts is the cricket director of the Guildford Cricket Club, Bashir’s alma mater, which is an hour’s train ride from London. He was the captain when a young Bashir played for the club. Also when he got hit on his face while fielding in a club game.

“We had this incident in a game, it actually off my bowling. He was fielding at mid-on and dropped a catch and the ball went through his hands and hit the mouth. A few teeth came out and few went through the lip. It was quite a serious injury. But he was back playing the next week, desperate to play.