Gill Hails Siraj's Tireless Effort as India Clinches Victory; Stokes and Brook Acknowledge India's Dominance in Hard-Fought Series

Shubman Gill, the captain and Player of the Series for India, showered praise on Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna following their victory in the recent test match against England.

Shubman Gill was lavish in his praise of Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna © Getty

Gill acknowledged the fierce competition throughout the series, stating, "Definitely both the teams played brilliantly throughout the series. Both the teams came up with their A-game, happy to get on the right side today." He emphasized the positive impact of having bowlers like Siraj and Prasidh, remarking, "When you have bowlers like Siraj and Prasidh, captaincy seems easy. They were making the ball talk."

Addressing the pressure during the match, Gill noted, "Yes, there was a bit of pressure on us but they were really bowling well. We were confident. We wanted them to feel the pressure throughout the 367 runs they scored." He particularly highlighted Siraj's dedication: "He [Siraj] is a captain's dream, every ball, every spell he bowled he came all out and gave it everything for the team."

Gill also reflected on his own performance and the team's resilience: "Feels very rewarding, there were certain things I wanted to work on as a batter and it was a goal to end as the best batter of this series, glad to get that goal. It is always a combination of technique and mentality, when you are feeling good mentally then the technique naturally flows... That we never give up."

Stokes Reflects on Hard-Fought Series

England captain Ben Stokes, while disappointed with the outcome, expressed pride in his team's efforts. "It's obviously always difficult when you can't participate in the game. Another hard fought game, down to Day 5, both teams have put in so much energy and effort into it. Bitterly disappointed we couldn't get over the line. But really proud of my team with everything they've put in. Disappointed we couldn't get the series win."

Stokes also commented on the intensity of the series: "I'm very proud of what the players have done and I'm sure Shubman is too. India-England is always a big series, you get so much emotion...We won't be going to our bed crying about what was said (on the field) and neither would the Indian players, it's all part of the passion."

Brook Acknowledges India's Bowling Prowess

Harry Brook, named England's Player of the Series, conceded India's superior performance. "Came into the day very confident. Had two very good players out there at the time and thought they'd easily see it home. The way India bowled today, they deserve every success...Siraj has played every game of the series and has bowled every ball 85+mph, respect him a lot. He was always going to go out, massive credit to him."

Brook reflected on missed opportunities, stating, "Unfortunate, we couldn't get over the line. So many things you can think in hindsight, we were obviously going so well, if we could've got a couple of big overs when I was going then the game was done...It's been an awesome series, very intense series, we've been knackered after everything. We've put everything out there, we've enjoyed every moment of it even though the result didn't go our way today. It's such a good advert for Test cricket."

Siraj Credits Self-Belief for Success

Mohammed Siraj, the Player of the Match, attributed his success to unwavering belief. "To be honest, it feels amazing. We wanted to fight hard from Day 1 and to see this result is great. The plan was to keep it simple and hit one spot. When I woke up today I believed that I could do it. I took a photo from Google saying 'believe' and put it as my wallpaper."

Rahul Highlights Significance of Test Cricket

KL Rahul emphasized the importance of Test cricket and the team's resilience. "It (Test cricket) means absolutely everything...For us as a team that wasn't given a chance in the series, for us to fight back and fight every game and get a result of 2-2...Might seem like a draw but for us and for Indian Test cricket going into the future, this will rank right at the top and this is where the change begins and the team will win a lot more series outside of India. The whole team deserves it."

Rahul also praised Shubman Gill's leadership, saying, "Shubman has been phenomenal. He has really led from the front...He is here to stay as a leader and take this Indian Test team to great heights."